


How This Grace Thing Works

by cassiopeiasara



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Sexual Content, F/F, Healing & Recovery, Hurt/Comfort, Lin & Kya being the best aunts, Mutual Pining, Post S3, Slow Burn, a splash of background korrasami, just a mild touch of angst at one point, most of this is in the T range, rating for scenes in ch 4 and 5, some background bolin/opal as well, the fam is very important here, those platonic tags are not used lightly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:54:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 39,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26723215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassiopeiasara/pseuds/cassiopeiasara
Summary: Post S3 Canon DivergenceThere are so many things Lin hadn’t thought possible a few months ago. Reconciliation with her sister, a niece who adores her, and facing off against Zaheer among them. When that same unexpected adoring niece asks to stay with her while everyone recovers from Zaheer’s attack, she surprises herself by agreeing. The bigger surprise however is that Kya, someone she’s hardly spoken to in years, comes to stay too.Kya is used to being the one to mend everyone else’s wounds but it becomes abundantly clear that she must attend to her own before she can begin to help anyone else. She is surprised when Lin of all people welcomes her into her home to convalesce.What happens next is a swirling ride of recovery, connection, and a love neither one of them saw coming.
Relationships: Asami Sato & Kya II, Kya II & Bumi II, Kya II & Jinora, Kya II & Korra, Kya II & Opal, Lin Beifong & Opal, Lin Beifong/Kya II
Comments: 290
Kudos: 492





	1. Undoing the Laces

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FlamingToads](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlamingToads/gifts).



> A/N: Hi all! I hope you enjoy this fic. It has been a thrill to write. I wrote practically all of it before I saw s4 so it is very much canon divergence. So much thanks to rikubean, toastweasel, flamingtoads, and linguini for their encouragement. Thanks to Alafair for being the best beta ever. Toad, I hope you love this. It's 100% for you. Fic Title comes from Roll Away Your Stone by Mumford & Sons. Chapter Titles from lyrics quoted within the chapters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi all! I hope you enjoy this fic. It has been a thrill to write. I wrote practically all of it before I saw s4 so it is very much canon divergence. So much thanks to rikubean, toastweasel, flamingtoads, and linguini for their encouragement. Thanks to Alafair for being the best beta ever. Toad, I hope you love this. It's 100% for you. Fic Title comes from Roll Away Your Stone by Mumford & Sons. Chapter Titles from lyrics quoted within the chapters.

> _Within the wings of a storm_
> 
> _I think I had met my match, he was singing_
> 
> _And undoing, and undoing the laces_
> 
> **_Undoing the laces_ **

Sara~Fleetwood Mac

Lin finished planning shifts with the mixed staff between her and Suyin and started rounding the decks. She caught sight of Oogi in the window before she stepped down and was glad for a more familiar form of transportation. 

“Aunt Lin?”

She stopped and turned toward her niece. “Yes?”

Opal nodded toward the doorway. “Could you step in here for a moment? I need to step away and I don’t want to leave her alone.”

Lin furrowed her brow and glanced down the hall, ensuring her officers were at their posts before she ducked into the room Opal had called from. Kya lay in the middle, her face somewhat relaxed from sleep, surrounded by her water pouch, an extra blanket, and a piece of what looked like her dress wrapped around one ankle. 

“Why do you need someone to watch her?”

Kya had hobbled onto the ship well enough with only help from Opal and Jinora. Lin doubted anything would come up in the few moments Opal needed to step away. 

“I need to check in with Mom, and since Jinora is with her dad, I just...” Opal paused and looked down at her hands. “She shouldn’t be alone.”

Lin shrugged. “I’ll stay.”

Opal smiled and gave Lin a kiss on the cheek that would normally startle her. She blamed her lack of reaction on exhaustion and the same sentimentality that led her to tell Suyin she loved her half a day ago. 

Lin stepped into the room and leaned against a wall in the corner. She hoped Kya stayed asleep. She wasn’t sure she’d know what to say or do if she awakened. She wondered for a moment why Bumi wasn’t with, then remembered he’d been hauled off closer to Korra, surrounded by Tonraq and the other airbenders. 

Kya stirred slightly, causing Lin to panic for a moment before she stilled again. Lin tried to remember the last time they’d spoken more than a few pleasantries. It had to have been around the harmonic convergence. Kya had said something about seeing each other more and wanted to ask Lin a question, but she’d been interrupted by someone else, and Lin had had her own duties to attend to. 

Lin had been a bit surprised at seeing Kya so much in the past couple of years. She had become such a fixture of the Southern Water Tribe that Lin had had no reason to visit. She’d actually forgotten about her, much in the way she tried to forget most things related to Tenzin. Until, of course, Korra came to live in Republic City, and interaction with Tenzin beyond mere council matters became the norm. Considering how much Tenzin’s children talked about Kya, Lin knew she must have visited a great deal before Korra, but once again, Lin had never had much reason to see her. 

Kya had always been a bit elusive and a constant part of Tenzin’s complaining when it came to his siblings. Though Lin had never had the urge to travel the world, she always admired Kya for honing her healing skills and following her own path. She’d made the mistake of telling Tenzin so, once when the chasm of their relationship was nearing its nadir. He thought it was just another check mark on the long list of things she didn’t support him on. 

“O-Opal?”

Lin shook her thoughts away as Kya came to, blinking slowly as she took in her surroundings. Lin pushed away from the wall and nodded toward the doorway. “She just stepped out for a minute.”

Kya blinked again, then gave her a hesitant smile. “Oh, Lin,” she cleared her throat, “it’s good to see you.”

Lin took a deep breath. What the hell was she supposed to do now? “Uh, can I get you anything?”

Kya nodded slowly. “A glass of water.” She groaned as she tried to sit up. “And maybe a lift?”

Lin kneeled awkwardly and pulled an extra pillow from a pile next to Kya. Kya leaned heavily on Lin’s arm as she helped her up. Lin hoped the firmness of her uniform didn’t make the action uncomfortable. When Kya nodded her thanks, Lin looked around before she located a jug and a cup. “Here.”

Kya’s hand shook slightly and Lin almost lifted her own to help, but stopped when Kya steadied. Kya took a few slow sips. “I would think you’d be patrolling the halls.”

“I was.”

Kya gave her a weak smile. “Opal asked you to stay, didn’t she?”

Lin wondered at why she was slightly upset Kya wouldn’t assume she was there of her own accord. She nodded. 

“Nieces,” said Kya fondly. 

Lin hummed. “I haven’t even known her for long.”

There was a twinkle in Kya’s eye before she winked.“Then just you wait.”

Lin’s eyes widened. “For what?”

Kya’s chuckle soon turned into a groan as she held her middle. Lin bit her lip, at a loss for how to help. Healing and caretaking were definitely not part of her skill set, beyond rudimentary measures to make sure someone didn’t die. 

Kya patted Lin’s knee and extricated her hand when Lin flinched. “I’m ok. There is ointment somewhere, but I’d rather conserve it for Bumi and the others. We’ll be home soon enough, and I’ve survived worse.”

Lin nodded and stood up. It was difficult to be in a situation for which she had no template for how to act. She wasn’t good at this type of thing, and her need to move was great. 

Kya looked up as if she sensed Lin’s discomfort. “You don’t have to stay, you know? I’m sure there are more important things to attend to.”

Lin turned to go, but there was something in the way Kya’s face fell that wouldn’t let her leave. “I have officers.”

Kya chuckled again, but thankfully didn’t wince and groan. “I bet you do.”

Lin opened her mouth for a retort just as Opal came bouncing in. 

She smiled at Kya and dropped next to her. “You’re awake! Do you need anything?”

Kya smiled softly. “No, your aunt did a great job in your absence.”

Opal smiled up at Lin while Lin did her best not to react. “Thank you, Aunt Lin.”

Lin nodded and exited the room.

* * *

Lin didn’t think she’d see much of Kya or anyone else when they returned to Republic City, but she was wrong on all fronts. Increased security was needed on Air Temple Island and somehow she’d neglected to hire someone adequate enough to dole out assignments. Then, of course, Pema insisted she stay for dinner and Opal echoed the request. 

She tried not to cringe when she was seated next to Meelo. It wasn’t as if she didn’t like the little tyke, but his constant flatulence and affinity for picking his nose made it difficult to eat. She assumed Opal would be on her other side, but was surprised when it was Kya, assisted by Opal. 

Lin raised an eyebrow. “I thought you’d be in your room like Bumi and Tenzin.”

Kya shrugged and Opal smiled at her. “She gave up her room to use for healing sessions and she’s been staying with me and Jinora.”

Jinora bounded in then. “We told her we’d bring her food, but she insisted when she heard--”

“She’s sitting right here and didn’t lose her voice in that fall,” stated Kya as she gave both her niece and Opal a stern look. She looked over at Lin. “I’ve been in that room all day and I needed out.”

Lin nodded. She hated bedrest and rarely adhered to it. Kya did her best to hide a wince as she turned fully toward the table. Lin opened her mouth to speak when Kya beat her to it. 

“Meelo, why don’t you trade places with Jinora?”

Meelo’s mouth dropped open. “Not fair! I never get to sit next to the cool guests.”

Lin could tell Kya had been expecting this response as her brow raised conspiratorially. Kya winked. “But if you sit in Jinora’s spot, you’ll be directly across the table from us, and it’ll be much easier to give Chief Beifong your plans to improve police training.”

Meelo smiled wide and hopped up as Jinora sat down quietly next to Lin. “I have lots of ideas, Chief!”

While he airbent to the other side of the room, Kya leaned over to whisper to Lin. “I love him, but it’s hard to eat and hold your breath at the same time.”

Lin nodded and stifled a smile. Dinner was lively, if somewhat odd without half of the usual attendants. Asami ate fast and took a tray to Korra while the other airbenders asked questions of Jinora and Meelo. Kya wasn’t kidding when she said Meelo had suggestions for police training. 

Kya quirked an eyebrow after Meelo explained a regiment for helping rookies dodge airbending. “I may have given the poor kid a little too much encouragement and now he thinks he’s an expert.”

Lin tilted her head. “He does make a few good points.”

Kya smiled gently. “Don’t let him know you’re impressed, or you’ll have a tiny shadow you can’t shake.” 

“Thanks for the advice.”

As they cleared the table, Opal offered to help clean up then turned to Lin. “Could you help Kya back to our room?”

Lin looked over at Kya, who sent Opal a look before she met Lin’s gaze. Lin wondered when they’d gotten so close that Kya seemed to act the same way with Opal she did her own nieces and nephews. Perhaps that was just what happened when one was good with children. 

“Of course,” offered Lin. She moved back and shifted toward Kya. 

Kya held her gaze a moment. “If you have to be getting back, I understand.”

Lin tilted her head. “An extra five minutes won’t kill me.”

Kya winked as she put a hand on Lin’s arm and Lin lifted her up. “It might, with the way life has been going lately.” She swayed slightly and Lin adjusted to put a hand on her back. Kya looked over at her. “Thank you.”

“Which way?” She tried to remember the layout from the last time she’d watched the kids, but she had no idea which room was whose specifically. 

Kya leaned heavily on her arm. “Actually, if we could just go to the pond right out there,” she paused and gestured toward the courtyard, “I’d appreciate it.”

“All right,” said Lin as she tried to slow her gait. They made it to a bench in twenty minutes and Kya sighed deeply when she sat down. 

She patted the seat next to her. “Want to join?”

Lin looked back toward the temple steps. “I should really--”

“If you wait another hour, the kids will be asleep and Meelo won’t corner you on the way down.”

Lin nodded and sat down. They sat for a few minutes, the rustling leaves the only sound in the still evening. 

“Is it difficult?”

Lin furrowed her brow and tilted her head at Kya. “Is what difficult?”

Kya gripped the end of the bench, taking a deep breath, then eased her grip slowly. She nodded toward where they’d just come from. “Being here, with all of that? All of them?”

Lin considered a moment. If this evening had only been a year or two ago, she wouldn’t have stepped a foot further than the dock, much less stay for dinner. She glanced toward a hallway behind them and saw Pema with Ikki and Meelo. There was no longer the deep ache in her chest when she saw the family. 

“Not really,” and she felt the truth of it as she said it. 

Kya gave her a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes and Lin wondered if she should have insisted on escorting her to bed. The bench wasn’t exactly the most comfortable, and the way Kya kept gripping it intermittently was concerning. 

Kya let out a deep breath again. “You’re a braver woman than I am, Lin.”

_I doubt that_ , thought Lin. “It isn’t as if dinner requires some great feat of endurance.”

Kya chuckled softly. “I bet you’d move a mountain and claim it was a piece of cake.”

Lin shrugged. “I am an earthbender.”

Kya twisted her wrist and a small splash of water moved in the pond in front of them. Her shoulders slumped slightly after. “You are indeed,” she said softly. 

Lin looked at her a long moment before she offered, “Would you like me to walk you back?”

Kya looked over at her. “Not the best company?”

Lin shook her head. “No, it’s not that. You just,” she sighed, “you seem as if you might--”

“Fall over at any moment?” Lin resisted a nod and Kya sighed. “You’re probably right, and I don’t want to keep you too long, Opal will--”

“Aunt Kya?”

They both turned to see Opal and Jinora behind them. 

Kya managed a tired but wider smile than before. “Come to collect your auntie, sweetheart?”

Jinora smiled back. “Only if she’s ready?”

Kya nodded and Lin stood with her. Kya threw an arm over her niece’s shoulders and waved at Lin. “Thanks for the chat.”

Lin nodded, waiting until they’d both rounded the corner before she turned to go. 

* * *

Opal caught Lin’s arm. She fidgeted after Lin stopped and turned to her. Lin found that after such a long evening, she didn’t have much in the way of patience. 

“What is it?”

Opal jumped slightly and put her hands behind her back. “Sorry, I was wondering if I could come stay with you in Republic City for a little while?”

Lin’s eyes widened. “Why would you want to do that?”

Opal glanced around them. “Well, it’s a little crowded here and I feel kind of in the way half the time. Our lessons are suspended until everyone recovers and Mom just went home. I thought…”

“I’m not home much, and I can’t say the food is any better.”

Opal shook her head. “That’s fine. I just,” she paused and sighed, “I could use a break. Is that too selfish?”

Lin sighed. “If you’re looking for some sort of air nation response, I can’t help you, but I don’t think so. I’m not sure how much you’ll like it but,” she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, wondering if it was the lateness of the hour or Opal’s eager face that made her finish with, “you can stay.”

Lin let out a small _oof_ of surprise as Opal’s arms flew around her. Opal leaned back slightly. “Can Kya come too?”

Lin peered at her. “Excuse me?”

“I think she feels bad that she can’t do long healing sessions and she needs to heal herself, not to mention all the stairs here.”

Lin tilted her head. “Have you asked her about this?” 

She and Kya might not have spoken much in years, but she was sure Kya knew enough to know that Lin’s home wasn’t exactly a guaranteed place of refuge. 

“Not yet. She probably wouldn’t admit it, but when I mentioned possibly asking you, she looked like she might want to come too.” Opal looked up a moment and hesitated before she added, “No one really considers her here.”

Lin knitted her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“When I first got here, Kya was the one to step in pretty much everywhere since, Pema is busy with the baby and the acolytes don’t know much more than we do when it comes to logistics. Then when we got back, I saw...” She paused and brought her hands in front of her to fidget. It reminded Lin so much of Su when she was younger. “Well, everyone is concerned about Korra, then Pema is with Tenzin, and the healers have to split their time...”

Lin nodded slowly. “But that doesn’t explain why you think no one considers her.” Lin thought of Jinora coming to help Kya back to her room just a few minutes before.

Opal shrugged. “I watched her. She’s always healing everyone or mediating fights or watching her nieces and nephews, but when she got hurt, aside from Jinora a few times, no one really stepped forward to take care of her.”

Lin lifted an eyebrow. “So you want me to do it? Opal, I know we haven’t known each other long, but--”

“No, I want to do it. She saved my life.”

Lin unfolded her arms. “What?”

“Ming-Hua caught me when some of us tried to escape and Kya pleaded with her to let me down, then held my hand while Zaheer explained his plan.” Opal shook her head and crossed her arms. “She could have saved the other airbenders in our group and let them take me, but she didn’t.”

“So you want to pay her back?”

Opal shook her head again. “I don’t think that’s possible. There have been other things too, like how she talked to me when I was homesick or encouraged my meditation, or even when she held my hand the first night back. I just, I want to be there for her.”

Lin almost shook her head at the warmth that filled her at Opal’s words. How Suyin had raised such a caring and selfless kid, Lin might never know, but she felt compelled (as ridiculous as it seemed) to help. 

“I’ll come back for you tomorrow afternoon.”

Opal gave her another hug. “Thank you, Aunt Lin.”

“You’re welcome, kid. Now I have to go or I’ll miss the last ferry off this island.”

* * *

Kya adjusted in her chair, still uneasy at the thought of using it. She turned to the healer. “Are you sure someone else won’t need--”

The young woman shook her head. “It’s all yours, and don’t be afraid to use it.”

Kya sighed. “I won’t.” 

It wasn’t as if she wouldn’t have given the same advice in the healer’s shoes, but it didn’t mean it made any of this easier. She felt bad enough about Opal doing all their heavy lifting, but knew the energy it took to get ready had all but wiped her out. Falling from that cliff had really fucked things up. 

Opal fixed the crutch atop of their bags. “You’re already only using it every once in a while. I’m sure we’ll send it back soon.”

Kya gave her a gentle smile. “You’re right.” 

She couldn’t exactly say for sure what made her agree to Opal’s plan, but something in her needed to be off this island. It was one thing when she could be a resource and asset, but quite another when she just felt like a burden. Bumi would be fine with his new friends and Tenzin had Pema, not to mention all the healers. 

Korra…

Kya took a deep breath and tried not to think too much about Korra’s vacant eyes and how much of the young girl’s pain she felt when she tried to heal her. It had been so long since Kya passed out in a healing session that the sting of not being able to do more cut deeper than usual. 

“Ready?”

Kya looked up and wondered how long she had been stuck in her thoughts to miss Lin appearing. She nodded. “All set. Opal?”

Opal nodded and Lin bent the ground around them to save the trouble of the stairs. Kya breathed a sigh of relief as Opal pushed her chair away from the mountain of steps. 

* * *

Lin almost apologized as they walked through the door. She had seen how incredibly decorated Suyin’s home was and though she hadn’t seen Kya’s room at the Air Temple, a flash of memory at Kya’s childhood bedroom, with its postcard plastered walls and various knick-knacks, gave her a vague idea what it would be like. Suddenly, the apartment that she always found adequate seemed like a bad option.

It wasn’t like she was ashamed of her living space. It was, by all accounts, a nice two-bedroom with a decent view of the city, in close proximity to the station, and with an array of market and shop options. She was never much of a decorator, but there were a few pieces on her walls and her bookcases were lined with books on various topics. Most of them were unread, perhaps, but still: she had them. 

Opal smiled as she looked around. “It’s so nice, Aunt Lin.”

Lin nodded toward the door on the left. “That’s the spare room. The sheets are clean.” _Because I never have company_ went unsaid. 

Kya looked up from her chair. “Thank you again, Lin.”

Opal nodded and picked up her and Kya’s bags before Lin shook her head and took them from her. She pulled them through the door and laid them at the foot of the bed. 

“I’ll just let you both, uh, settle in. Let me know if you need anything.”

Kya gave Opal a gentle smile. “Opal, why don’t you put on some tea and let me talk to Lin for a minute?”

Opal looked to Lin who nodded apprehensively. As soon as she was through the door, Kya spoke. 

“I won’t be offended if you change your mind.”

Lin furrowed her brow and crossed her arms. “Why would I do that?”

Kya folded her hands in her lap and nodded toward the door. “Because It’s hard to say no to a face like that, for one, and two, it’s not as if...” She paused, fidgeting with her hands. “I’m not your responsibility. I’m not even Opal’s. I just don’t want you to feel obligated. You always seemed to,” she stopped and looked up at Lin with a wry smile, “ _value_ your space, and I don’t want to disturb that.”

Lin took a deep breath. Of all the things she thought Kya might say, consideration for her own feelings was the last thing she’d expected. Lin couldn’t say she was necessarily looking forward to playing host to a niece she barely knew and a woman with whom she had shared exactly two long conversations since childhood. She did, however, see the logic in Opal’s request, and providing space wasn’t exactly the incredible imposition Kya made it seem. 

“It’s fine. I can’t promise the quiet of the island or anything, but I’m barely here and it,” she shrugged, “might be a practical solution.”

Kya nodded. “Well, just know you’re allowed to change your mind.”

Lin nodded in return. “I’ll keep you updated.”

Opal came through a moment later. “Aunt Lin, I can’t find your tea service.”

Lin pushed off the wall and walked into the kitchen to help.

* * *

Kya sat up in the dark and sighed. Opal slept peacefully next to her and she thanked the Spirits the girl was probably experiencing her first full night of sleep in a week. She wondered if Opal had mentioned the screams of some of the other airbenders to Lin. Kya was not unaccustomed to sleeping in close proximity to those who experienced night terrors (not to mention her own), but the way the poor girl shivered next to Kya in their room, after Jinora snuck out to sleep in her parents’ room, told her it was a new experience for Opal. 

Kya turned to transfer to her chair. She pulled the blankets back up in her absence from the bed and rolled gently into the living room. She was grateful for the level ground of Lin’s apartment. She moved toward the kitchen and winced as the creak of her chair sounded loud in the quiet of the late evening. A figure popped up from the sofa and Kya pulled her hands up in a defensive stance. She wasn’t anywhere near full strength, but she could do some damage and scream if need be. After a moment, she realized the silhouette was familiar.

She watched Lin look from the open spare door to the surrounding room. “It’s just me,” whispered Kya. 

Kya couldn’t be sure, but she thought Lin’s shoulders relaxed a fraction. Lin sighed and stood up, turning on a lamp. “Do you need something?” 

_To be better_ , thought Kya. “I just thought I’d try some chamomile. I can’t sleep.” 

Lin nodded slowly and walked into the kitchen, turning on the kettle. 

Kya rolled toward her. “I can get it. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Lin shook her head. Her eyes looked a bit distant and Kya wondered if she’d actually been asleep very long. “I’m expecting a call on a case.”

Kya nodded slowly and noticed Lin’s armor not too far from the sofa. She remembered Bumi commenting once that he was sure Lin slept in her armor. Kya admitted she might have thought the same when she came to the island last year right before the harmonic convergence. 

Lin had always seemed incredibly serious, even in what little of her youth Kya had seen. She had been a little shocked when Tenzin wrote to say they were going to be married, thinking perhaps her teenage impression of Lin must differ vastly from the woman Lin had become. She hadn’t had much opportunity to see their relationship in action, apart from her father’s funeral and she didn’t have much memory of then, beyond knowing it was time to make sure Katara was taken care of. 

“I don’t have any sugar.”

Kya looked up and shook her head. “It’s fine.” 

Kya wouldn’t be surprised if Lin’s cupboards were bare. It didn’t look like she stayed here much. She would have to see if Opal was up for shopping tomorrow. As if to remind her of the limitations on activity, her ankle chose that moment to throb. She winced and Lin jumped. 

“What’s wrong?”

Kya pointed to her feet. “Just my ankle. My...” She paused and tried to remember where she placed her medical bundle, “Medicine is in…” Her head throbbed too as she tried harder to think. 

Lin strode into the bathroom and came back with the bundle. “This?”

Kya hummed and unrolled it. The kettle whistled. “Could you bring that closer?”

Lin nodded and placed the kettle on the edge of the table closest to Kya. Kya bent a small amount of water and threw up a bit of herbs to mix in it, moving the spinning ingredients toward her ankle. 

She felt Lin staring and smiled. “Questions?”

Lin stiffened. “I didn’t mean to--“

Kya smiled as she looked up at her. “I don’t mind curiosity.”

Lin took a few moments then glanced again at Kya’s ankle. “What do those do?”

“The rue and boswellia are anti-inflammatory,” offered Kya as she pulled the water from the herbs and let them drop to her ankle, “ and the angelica is for soreness, blood flow, and qi.”

“Helpful,” stated Lin. 

Kya tilted her head. “Honey?”

“Huh?”

Kya smiled. “Have any? Would also help with the inflammation. These old joints could use all they can get.”

Lin muttered something that could have been _not that old_ as she rummaged through her cupboard. She took out a small jar that was almost empty. “Here.”

“Thank you.” While Kya poured, Lin’s phone rang. 

“Chief Beifong.”

Kya’s eyebrows lifted out of view, impressed that Lin could sound so intimidating at such a late hour. She wasn’t sure if Lin wanted a cup but poured anyway. She eyed the bottom of the honey jar and did her best to spoon it out. She mentally added it to the list of things she and Opal would get the next day. 

“I have to go,” said Lin in a voice softer than her tone on the phone. 

Kya nodded toward the counter. “Thermos?”

Lin furrowed her brow but picked it up and handed it to Kya. Kya bent the tea into the cup. Lin gave her a curt nod. “Thank you. I’m.. not sure if I’ll return when…” she looked toward the guest room.

Kya nodded. “We’ll be fine. If you could leave a key,” she paused and tilted her head, “though I’m just as happy to use my lock picking skills. I’ve gone a bit rusty.”

Lin raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment as she rifled through a drawer and produced an extra key. “Here.”

“Thank you, and Lin?”

Lin looked back after she adjusted her uniform. “Yes?”

“Be safe.”

Lin nodded and rushed out the door.

* * *

Kya smiled at the vendor and made room in her bag for the tomatoes. “What’s next?”

Opal checked her list. “Cabbage?” Kya nodded and Opal folded the list before she started to push Kya. “Do you think Aunt Lin is lonely?”

Kya adjusted in her chair and shrugged. “She could be. I know she visits the island for business regularly and I think she has a friend or two on the force.”

“Mom said she’s never been too good at making friends.”

_Your mother has always been a little too good_ Kya thought but didn’t say, since her own track record on trust and chances wasn’t necessarily the best. “People grow and change.” Opal hummed in agreement and stopped at the cabbage cart. Kya locked the chair and stood. She pointed next to her. “Grab some kale too.”

When they were done, they passed a nursery. Opal paused. “Do you think she might like some plants?”

Kya smiled. “Maybe. Just make sure she’s not required to be around much for them, or that their care is too complicated. I like fresh herbs as much as anyone, but it’s not the most convenient.”

Opal nodded and made for an aloe vera plant. Kya nodded in approval. Opal tilted her head. “Was it too much to ask her if we stayed?”

“Hmm?” asked Kya as she looked up from a row of flowers. 

“Aunt Lin. I just thought… I want to get to know her, and I was worried she was lonely and I want to help. I--”

Kya patted Opal’s arm. “I’m sure you could help anyone feel less lonely, sweetheart.”

Opal beamed at her and Kya hoped Lin wouldn’t take issue with her assessment. The truth was that Kya did think she was lonely, though her aura was lighter than Kya had seen of late. She remembered Toph once described Lin as a loner, but Kya didn’t know enough yet to know if Lin just preferred things that way. 

Kya could certainly see the appeal, though it had been years now since she’d truly spent more than a day alone. She missed it, even if she wouldn’t trade the time with her family for anything. Losing her father and Uncle Sokka so close together had shifted something inside Kya, with her desire to roam transforming into the desire to stay close. She felt that if she were close enough to help fight and comfort should anything happen, then maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t lose people as fast. 

“Oh, look at these!” exclaimed Opal. 

Kya looked up at two beautiful tapestries. The maps stirred her nostalgia for travelling and the colors would be wonderful to brighten Lin’s living room. “Let’s get them.”

* * *

Lin wrinkled her nose at the unfamiliar scent wafting out from her apartment. She’d never cared much for the strong smell of incense, especially as it was now associated with Tenzin’s air temples. She sighed and unlocked the door.

She couldn’t help her gasp of horror as she took in the chaos that was her apartment. There seemed to have been some sort of greenhouse transformation, with a plant on every surface, as well as two bright tapestry maps of the earth kingdom and Republic City. 

“What the hell is--”

“Aunt Lin, you’re home!” said Opal as she rushed to the door. She lifted her arms for a hug. 

“What have you done to my apartment?”

Kya shrugged from her place at the table, chopping vegetables. “We were only trying to enhance things a bit. It was--”

Lin turned to her niece. “This is my home and these are my things and you can’t just--”

Opal took a step back. “I’m sorry. I only--”

Kya set down her task and unlocked her chair to move closer between them. “Lin, it was mostly my idea, I--”

“You just push in and ‘spice things up’?”

Kya shook her head. “That wasn’t it. We just thought you might like to add a few things.” 

Lin fumed. Why did everyone always assume she was missing or lacking something? Her apartment had been just fine the day before. Opal had even commented that it was nice. What had changed? 

She scoffed at Kya. “Because it was too boring and stilted for you? What do you know about building a home, Kya? You’ve never been anywhere long enough to--“

“Stop, please!” shouted Opal. A few items fell from a nearby shelf as Lin and Kya were pushed back. Lin winced at the impact of the wall at her back, while Kya’s hands shook as she leaned down to lock her chair. 

Opal had tears in her eyes as she looked between them. “I wanted to do something nice for you. We both did. To say thank you! Why are you being so awful? Why are you so...” her voice broke. 

Kya cleared her throat. “Why don’t you go to the room, Opal?”

Opal wiped at her eyes and walked quickly out of the room.

Kya’s voice was firm as she looked over to Lin. “I understand that we upset you, but that girl doesn’t deserve to--” 

“I’m leaving.” Not waiting for a response, Lin turned on her heel and slammed the door behind her.

She didn’t know how long she walked around the city. Lin’s first thought had been to stop by the station and take her aggression out on some of the workout equipment, but she quickly squashed that idea. She was trying to be better about trusting her staff and she already practically lived at the station. Her officers deserved a night off from her. 

She found a park and learned against the railing above the lake. Why was it so hard with everyone? Why did everyone always feel the need to step in and change her? She liked her apartment well enough, and it wasn’t like she’d asked Opal and Kya to barge in. 

_They asked you_ , said a quiet voice in her mind that sounded much too like her Uncle Sokka. _They like you_. 

Lin scoffed. Opal liked some version of her that was fabricated by the two people who knew her the least and Kya, well, she wasn’t sure what Kya thought. It didn’t matter though. This was never going to work. 

_Just like you and Su?_

Lin shook her head and shoved off the railing. She considered walking around until she was sure Kya and Opal would be asleep, but knew it would be no use. She’d have to face them at some point, if only to tell them to leave. 

* * *

Kya set dinner in the oven to stay warm and sent Opal off to meditate. She sighed as she considered their additions to Lin’s space. She shook her head. She’d been so caught up in Opal’s eagerness that she’d forgotten the first rule of gift giving: consider your recipient. Neither one of them knew Lin well enough and Kya realized now she probably wouldn’t have gotten so many things if she’d stopped to think a little harder.

_But you never stop to think, Kya, and it gets you into endless trouble_. Kya shook her head as the voice of one of her old teachers rang in her head. She had grown from the teenager those words were first spoken to, but she had to admit, her default setting could be troublesome. 

_Like now_ , she thought. She sighed and rearranged a few books on Lin’s shelf. She wished Lin had stopped for a moment. Kya couldn’t be completely sure, but it seemed if she could just get Lin to listen past her frustration, things might go more smoothly. That was, of course, if Lin didn’t consider this whole arrangement a complete mistake, which was something Kya couldn’t blame her for in the least. 

The front door opened and shut quietly, though Lin’s steps were firm as she walked in. She set her keys to the side and looked taken aback by the absence of the tapestries. 

“I can take the plants back too if you want,” offered Kya. Lin just turned and locked the door behind her. Kya bit her lip. “If you want me to leave, feel free to tell me, but please be gentle with her.”

Lin took a few minutes before she turned to gaze at Kya. When she did, Kya was reminded of a time when they were young and a group of girls told Lin she was too aggressive. Lin hadn’t cried, only stared at the group of retreating girls. Katara had stepped forward to whisper something to Lin when Toph just walked away. Kya had no idea what her mother said, but she did remember the look of resignation in Lin’s eyes. 

The same expression was just as heartbreaking on an adult Lin. “‘Gentle’ isn’t really something I’m known for.”

Kya nodded slowly. “Well, thinking before I act has never come too naturally to me.” She shrugged. “We all have our faults.”

Lin looked at the closed door of the spare room. “I shouldn’t have said yes to this.”

Kya leaned forward. “You don’t know that.”

Lin crossed her arms. “She tried to be nice, and I just…” She shook her head. “She’ll hate me now.”

Kya shook her head. “I doubt Opal could hate anyone, and Lin?” Lin looked down at her. “Apologies exist for a reason.”

Lin scoffed. “I told you, I’m no good at gentle.”

“Looking after me in that airship, helping me after dinner, and saying yes to us staying with you all suggest otherwise. And even if you want us to go now, the gesture was still kind.”

Lin looked at her a long moment before she uncrossed her arms. “I don’t like change.”

Kya raised an eyebrow. “I caught that.”

Lin rolled her eyes, but her posture was more relaxed than when she’d come in. “You can stay. Both of you.”

Kya smiled. “I don’t have to, and I am sorry, Lin. I should have asked--”

Lin held up a hand. “I shouldn’t have blown up. I’m… working on it.”

Kya nodded toward the bedroom. “Why don’t you work on it in there?” Lin hesitated. Kya gave her a once over. “Might help if you get rid of the intimidating police uniform.”

Lin nodded and crossed into her room quickly before she came back out in her tank top and uniform pants. Kya moved to get dinner ready while Lin and Opal tended to their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think. This fic will be updated regularly. Rating will increase in chapter 4. Feel free to come squeal with me on tumblr about these two.


	2. I Don't Have to Pretend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I know in canon Su was at Jinora's ceremony but I've altered that for reasons and added someone new to show up. This is canon divergence after all. Hope you enjoy!

> It's refreshing not to see  
> That **I don't have to pretend**  
>  She doesn't expect it from me

Good Enough~Sarah Mclachlan

Kya groaned as Amka worked on her back. “How much longer?”

Amka smiled as she moved her hands in familiar circles. Kya definitely couldn’t fault her technique at least. “Five minutes less than the last time you asked.”

Kya sighed and laid her head on the table she was currently laid out on. She was glad Lin was at work and Opal was napping. They didn’t have to hear Amka overpraise Kya for her progress: _considering your age_. Amka was a skilled enough healer, but her overly perky and unhelpful asides could use work. 

She wished Katara were here. Not because the banter would be any less patronizing, but at the least she would be further along. It had been two weeks since her fall, and while she didn’t need her chair most of the morning, she still couldn’t do without it by midafternoon. Her crutch sat in the corner of the bedroom she shared with Opal, taunting her. 

Kya didn’t think about her age much. She was in excellent shape, really, and she welcomed the slower pace in certain areas of her life, but every ache and shot of pain in the last couple of weeks reminded Kya that fighting wasn’t exactly something she could recover from as quickly as she used to. 

“All done.” 

Kya nodded and tried to get up too fast. “Ugh,” she muttered. 

Amka was close to her side. “Go easy, and don’t forget your exercises.” 

Kya forced a smile. “I will.”

Amka looked around. “Are you sure you’re fine on your own?”

Kya tilted her head. “I greeted you at the door, didn’t I?” Amka hesitated. Kya sighed. “Opal will probably be up in--”

The door to the spare room opened as Opal yawned and stepped out. She nodded to Amka and smiled softly at Kya. “Hi.”

“Hey kid, help an old lady out before this one reports me for noncompliance.”

Opal came over to Kya’s table and helped her down. “You’re not old.”

Kya kissed the top of her head. “Have I mentioned you’re my favorite?” 

Opal chuckled and looked at Amka. “See you in two weeks?”

Kya held back a groan and made a mental note to change her assigned healer. 

Amka smiled. “Yes.” She turned to Kya. “Rest well.”

Kya thought she might get a headache from the strain of not rolling her eyes. “Will do.” When Amka was through the door, she sighed and gave Opal a hug. She bit her lip through the pain of moving and made it to the sofa. “What would you like to do this afternoon?”

Opal brought her hands in front of her and fidgeted, much in the same way Kya remembered Suyin doing. “I thought we could go to the island, but if you’re not feeling up to it…”

Kya waved her hand in dismissal. “Just give me an hour and we’ll catch the ferry.”

Opal smiled. “If you’re sure?”

Kya nodded. “Yeah, just call your aunt at the station and we’ll head out.”

* * *

“No, it’s fine,” muttered Lin. “Yes, I’ll see you later. No, I didn’t forget about dinner. Bye.” Lin hung up the phone and stretched as she moved back to sit behind her desk. She thumbed through the files on the new group Mako had been investigating and sighed. All a variety of threats and ransom notes directed at Korra. 

_This is all the poor kid needs_ , thought Lin. 

Lin hadn’t seen Korra in two weeks, but the reports from Mako and written notes from Tenzin told her that Korra was struggling to get better. Little wonder, considering all Korra had been through. 

Lin’s stomach growled and she opened a small bag under her desk. As she unwrapped her sandwich, a note fell out. 

_I hope you enjoy the extra cookies. I don’t know how you survive on so little, Chief._

Lin rolled her eyes at Kya’s now familiar handwriting. She and Opal insisted on packing her more food than she ever needed in a day, and Kya’s turns always included notes like this one. It was strange to have people checking in daily and, more often than not, waiting for her at home, but things had been relatively calm after her initial blow up.

Lin still wished Kya could manage to not make her living room look like a tornado any time she was mixing elixirs or creating ointments, but she managed not to yell her wishes and Kya was willing to clean up whenever she was asked. Lin appreciated the couple of chats they’d managed after Opal went to sleep. Kya reassured Lin that she was doing well in her efforts to get to know Opal, even though Lin always insisted she didn’t need the reassurance. 

“Chief?”

Lin wiped her chin as Mako knocked on her door. She set her sandwich down. “Come in.”

Mako walked in and nodded toward the files. “What do you think?”

Lin sighed. “I think you’re right. We do get tips and reports from all kinds of people threatening the Avatar, but this Initiative group has the ability to actually carry it out. I want you to take Zhang Min with you to follow up on your two leads. Let me know when you find something solid enough to bring them in.”

Mako nodded and left the room.

Lin finished her sandwich and saved her cookies for later. She had a feeling she might be late for dinner. 

* * *

Kya almost laughed when Lin rushed in the door. “Hey, Chief.”

“Am I too late? Where’s Opal?” asked Lin as she threw her key near the door and bent off her armor. 

“Take a breath,” said Kya. She opened the oven to check on the fish and moved to the sink to wash the greens. “She’s getting ready and I just put everything in the oven.”

Lin furrowed her brow. “You said dinner was at 7.”

Kya nodded. “Anticipating you might be here by eight-thirty, and telling Bolin nine.”

Lin huffed. “I’m not a child, you know.”

Kya turned and crossed her arms, leaning against the counter. “No one said you were, but you are busy, and this is important to her. I just thought I’d make sure. Now go get ready so you’re here when she comes out.”

Lin stomped into her room as Kya turned back to the meal. If she could just finish the greens, she could relax and pretend like the visit to the island that afternoon hadn’t worn her out. 

It had been good to see Tenzin doing so well and Bumi progressing more than she’d expected in such a short time. Korra, however, had been a different story. Kya was starting to wonder if they might need to call for her mother soon. Kya had seen her fair share of extensive injuries and knew Korra could come back from this, but she also knew too well the impact of Zaheer. Korra’s spirit and mind had been just as affected as her body, and those injuries didn’t always heal in quite the same way as the physical ones. 

A door slid open behind Kya. She turned back and didn’t know if she almost fell due to her general fatigue or Lin’s outfit. Lin wore grey slacks with a black button up shirt and a skinny yellow tie that looked to be the same color as the symbol on her uniform. Lin finished rolling up her sleeves and moved toward Kya. 

“You ok?”

Kya took a deep breath and gripped the edge of the sink. “Never better.” Kya shook her head as she placed the greens in a strainer. 

“Need any help?”

Kya nodded toward the cutting board and vegetables she hadn’t gotten to yet. “Chop those if you would?”

Lin nodded and started. Kya knew from the last couple of weeks that small talk was not something Lin preferred to engage in, so she continued to work on the salad in silence. In the end she was glad for the task, as she wouldn’t be tempted to gaze at Lin. 

It wasn’t as if Kya had never noticed how attractive Lin was, but it was one thing to just know it and quite another to experience it as they spent more and more time together. Kya sighed. There was no point in dwelling on it. Not only did Kya have a host of other things to think about rather than drool over her current roommate, but Lin also didn’t seem to have much interest in anything beyond her job. 

“Here.”

Kya cursed the delighted tingle under her skin as Lin’s hand brushed hers to pass the bowl of vegetables. “Thanks, I--”

“Aunt Lin, you look so nice.”

They both turned to see Opal in a dark green tea dress. She had a smile a mile wide and Kya couldn’t help but smile back. 

“Thanks, kid. You look…”

Kya looked over to see Lin’s eyes flitting about the room as if the right word might mercifully jump down from the ceiling and save her. Kya did it instead. 

“Stunning, sweetheart,” finished Kya. 

She took a step forward and faltered, her fatigue finally making itself known in a way she couldn’t ignore. Lin’s hand slipped around her waist as she caught her. Kya smiled in thanks and thought Lin could at least _try_ to be less sexy. 

Kya nodded toward Opal. “Give us a spin.”

Opal ducked her head slightly, her bashfulness reminding Kya of her own nieces, but did as Kya asked. When she was done she nodded toward Kya. “Would you like help getting ready?”

_No_ , thought Kya but knew she wouldn’t be able to manage it on her own. “Sure, though I don’t know how I’ll measure up to the two of you.”

Opal shook her head. “Your dress is fantastic. We’ll be right back, Aunt Lin.”

Lin nodded. 

Kya was more grateful for the help once they slipped her dress on over her usual blue underdress. It was a sleeveless dark blue number with sparkly designs that reminded her of home. It was much shorter than her usual dresses, stopping just above mid calf. If she hadn’t needed her chair, she would have forgone the underdress. 

Opal did a fantastic job pinning Kya’s hair in a bun, the clock chiming nine as she slipped a pair of silver earrings onto Kya’s ears. 

Kya smiled when they heard the door knock. “Let’s go save that poor boy from your aunt.”

* * *

Lin stood in the doorway with her arms crossed as Bolin shuffled back and forth on his feet. “Hello.”

Bolin’s smile was uneasy as he held up a small bag. “Miss Beifong… uh… Chief, it’s nice of you to have me. I was going to bring you flowers, but that didn’t really seem like your thing, and Mako says this is the kind of coffee you usually get from the cafe around the corner from the station. I double checked three times and it should be the right--”

“Stop,” stated Lin. Bolin often reminded Lin of a spinning toy Suyin had when they were kids that would bump into everything but keep going as if it wasn’t constantly stumbling through its course. 

Bolin’s mouth shut instantly and his face fell slightly. Lin internally sighed. She hadn’t meant to hurt the kid’s feelings, but they were already starting late and she knew that listening to him from the few weeks they’d spent together not too long ago would cause a headache. 

The door opened wider and Opal stepped next to her aunt. She ducked her head a bit deeper than she had when Kya asked her to spin. 

“Hi,” she said softly. 

Bolin’s smile was wide and goofy in a way that made Lin almost roll her eyes back in her head. “Hi.”

Lin wondered if she’d actually survive this ridiculous dinner, when a voice from inside spared her from the agony of watching two teenagers fumble through their infatuation. 

“Well, you can’t stand in the hallway staring at one another all night.”

Lin turned back into the apartment and stopped short. Kya’s hair was pinned up in a bun, with sparkling earrings the same beautiful grey color as her hair. The dress she wore had patterns that might look silly or too much on anyone else, but Lin found she couldn’t resist her eyes following each one. She looked down into Kya’s smiling face, opening and closing her mouth several times without so much as a squeak. 

A whistle sounded next to her. “Kya, you look amazing!”

Kya laughed, a beautiful bright sound that Lin liked hearing more than she cared to admit. “Thanks, kid, but I hope you complimented your date before you did me.”

Bolin’s eyes widened as he turned to Opal. “Oh, no, Opal, I meant to say you look incredible. No, stunning. No, perfect!”

Opal smiled at him. “Thank you.”

They stared at one another for another full minute before Lin sighed. “Let’s eat.”

Lin moved to pour herself and Kya a glass of wine. She tried to think of some way to compliment Kya that didn’t sound like an awkward fumble. “You do look nice,” she whispered as she set down Kya’s glass. 

Kya’s smile was smaller but just as warm when she turned to Lin. “Thank you.” Her gaze lingered in a way that made Lin’s stomach flip. “You clean up well too, Chief.”

“You remembered,” stated Bolin as he pointed to a plate of kale wraps. 

Kya furrowed her brow and looked over at Lin. Lin shrugged. “You really don’t want to know.”

Dinner taught Lin that Bolin’s rambling wasn’t nearly as incessant or unbearable if she had other adult company to make comments to. Lin tried her best to keep her gaze on her food or limit herself to the count of ten when looking at Kya, but it got harder as the night wore on. 

First, it was the fact that she was used to looking at Kya when speaking to her most nights. Next, it was the way Kya always spoke with her hands. Her movements were fluid like her bending and almost excitable as Bolin’s. Lastly, there was the way she leaned her cheek on her open palm, winking or smiling at Lin when Lin whispered something she found particularly amusing. 

Lin took a sip of wine. She sincerely needed to get over this developing crush on her ex boyfriend’s sister. She sighed as she put her glass back down. That was another thing. Not only was Kya a bad idea because she was still recovering and staying with Lin, but the drama of the connection to Tenzin would be a headache Lin couldn’t afford. 

Kya put her own glass down and started reaching for everyone’s plates. “Bolin, I think you’ll appreciate dessert. We picked it up from that bakery you and Mako used to live next to.”

“Segoshi’s?” Bolin’s eyes went as wide as saucers. 

Lin stood up, taking her plate and Bolin’s then reached for Kya’s stack of her and Opal’s. Kya opened her mouth to protest, but Lin shook her head. She set the plates in the sink then took out the small cake and dessert plates. 

“Yes,” responded Kya.

Bolin smiled at all of them. “You guys didn’t have to do all this for me.”

_No we didn’t,_ thought Lin, opposed to this whole endeavor from the beginning. Still, Kya had gently (firmly) reminded her of Bolin’s importance to Opal, and the two of them insisted Bolin take the leftovers to Mako. By the end, even Lin had to admit it wasn’t a complete waste. 

“We wanted to,” said Opal. She smiled brightly and added, “I wanted to.”

Lin did her best to keep her cake down.

* * *

Kya nodded her thanks to Lin as she took up their dessert plates when they were done, happy she’d gotten two cakes. She forgot how much someone with as much energy as Bolin could eat. 

She looked over at him. “Any big plans soon?”

Bolin looked from Opal to Lin. “Well, there’s a mover playing tomorrow night that I can get pretty good tickets to. I was kind of wondering if Opal could come with me.”

Opal looked over at Kya. “Do you think you can—”

Kya winked. “I think I can manage to survive without you for one night.”

Opal turned to Lin. “Can I go, Aunt Lin?”

Kya watched Lin stiffly consider Bolin and hoped she wouldn’t say no. Bolin wasn’t exactly the brightest kid, but he was sweet and Opal deserved a little fun. 

“Have her home by 11:30, and don’t bother trying to do anything stupid. I am the chief of police you know.”

Bolin swallowed thickly and said, “Yes, sir, ma’am, I—”

“Breathe, Bolin,” started Kya as she took a few breaths to cue him, “in and out.”

He did as she instructed and smiled at Opal. They both stood from the table and moved to the door to say their goodbyes. Kya and Lin nodded toward them as Opal closed the door. 

Opal stepped in a couple of minutes later and gave Lin a hug. Lin’s arms just hung awkwardly at her sides, but her eyes softened. 

Opal took a step back. “Thank you, Aunt Lin. Do you want tea? I can get it after the dishes and—”

“Why don’t you go ahead to bed? Your aunt and I can handle cleanup.”

Opal hesitated before she nodded and moved to the spare room. Kya rolled over to the sink and locked her chair before she stood up. “Wash or Dry?”

Lin lifted an eyebrow and Kya chuckled while Lin threw a towel over her shoulder. The action looked entirely too enticing and Kya was glad for the task in front of them. 

They worked in silence for a few minutes, with Kya alternating between bending the water and washing without bending. She was grateful that the sit down dinner and good food had given her enough energy to do so.

Lin took a cup from her. “Is she old enough to go out alone?”

Kya smiled. “Perk of being an auntie is you don’t have to think like a mother.”

Lin scoffed. “Mine never had a curfew.”

Kya hummed. “True, but I bet Su would give one, and one a lot less generous than 11:30.”

Lin’s eyes widened. “Is that too late? Should I have insisted we supervise? I suppose I could spare an officer to tail them.”

Kya shook her head. “No, they’re good kids and let’s be honest, the girl could use a night out after the last few weeks of taking care of me.”

Lin scoffed. “It’s not like you’re a lot of work.”

Kya shook her head. “I have a few ex girlfriends who would beg to differ.”

Lin opened and closed her mouth a few times. 

Kya shrugged and spoke before Lin could stumble out a reply. “Anyway, she deserves some fun. And we both know that when Tenzin is fully healed, she won’t know any real fun for a while.”

Lin’s mouth twitched up in what would be a smile if she’d let it. “True. I have to work until nine tomorrow. Will you be—”

Kya smiled. “Worried about me, chief?”

Lin’s eyes lingered in a way that made Kya’s breath catch before she shook her head. “No, I just… thought you should know.”

“Thank you. I’ll set a plate aside to warm.”

Lin shook her head as she dried the last dish. “You don’t have to do that.”

Kya crossed her arms and leaned against the sink. “Considering you’ve let me stay here when you didn’t have to, I’d say it’s the least I could do.”

Lin looked to the living room. “Did you want some tea?”

“I’d love to, but,” a yawn interrupted her and Kya cursed the traitorous action, “I think I should call it a night.”

Lin nodded. “Good night.”

* * *

Lin sighed as she moved her foot and shifted her lock. She really thought she’d get out of the building on time for once, but Mako had a break in the Initiative case and she’d been an hour later helping him sort through things. She tried to call, but no one had picked up. She figured Kya was meditating or something. 

She set a bundle of files next to her front door and took a look around. She couldn’t quite explain it but something was… off. 

Before she could tap into her seismic sense, a groan sounded from the kitchen and she stepped in to find Kya on the floor. Panic quickly flooded her body.

Lin knelt down. Her eyes scanned Kya’s body for signs of any wound or injury. “What happened?”

Kya gave her a strained smile. “Oh, you’re back.”

Lin pulled her up slowly, mindful of Kya’s groans at being shifted. “Not an answer.”

Kya shook her head and swayed, catching the edge of the counter. Lin moved a little closer in case she fell again. “I was just going to make more tea and misjudged a step or two.”

Lin looked her over, wondering if there were any internal injuries. “Should I call a healer?”

Kya rolled her eyes and sighed. “No, I promise it was just a trip.”

Lin looked to the pile of freshly washed dishes near the sink and into the living room with newly folded sheets and various bottles of newly mixed elixirs and ointments. 

“You’ve done too much.”

Kya bit her lip. “Opal helped?”

Lin tilted her head. “That’s not even close to convincing.”

Kya shrugged. “Fine, I’m not very good at resting.”

Lin nodded and gestured toward the sofa. “Tea you said?”

Kya nodded but didn’t move. “Lin, I can do it, you just got off and—”

“Sit.”

Kya pouted and Lin held her gaze, trying to ignore the jump in her heart at the adorable look on Kya’s face. Kya huffed and moved to sit down, trying and failing to correct for the slight sway as she reached her destination. 

Lin turned around as soon as Kya sat and reheated the kettle. She also found the plate Kya left for her and warmed that too. It really was too much, even if it was delicious, and she wondered if the clean sheets were also a part of Kya’s way of paying her back for letting her stay. 

She poured Kya’s tea and brought it over on a tray. “Here.”

Kya nodded. “Thank you. How was your shift?”

Lin tried to decipher any passive aggression in Kya’s tone. She was used to being chided for her hours and dedication, but Kya’s face was soft and genuinely curious. “Fine.” 

“That entertaining, huh?” Lin shrugged and looked back at her dinner. Kya followed her gaze and pulled her tea cup and saucer off her tray. “Bring it over and join me.”

Lin hesitated a moment before she picked up her plate and sat in an armchair next to her sofa. Kya set her cup and saucer on the cushion next to her and lifted up the tray Lin had given her. Lin almost protested when Kya set the tray over her lap, but Kya’s face told her it was useless. 

Lin sighed as she swallowed a bite. “It’s just a group Mako is working on catching that keeps being one or two steps ahead of us.”

Kya nodded slowly. “What kind of group?”

Lin took a deep breath. She’d wanted to tell Kya about the Initiative group for some time, but she didn’t want to scare her. Not that much seemed to scare Kya, but Lin knew how much Kya worried for Korra, and the last thing she wanted to do was add to that worry. 

“The kind I wish we’d caught already.” She took a sip of wine and nodded. “Other than attempting to clean the whole apartment, what did you do today?”

Kya took a sip of tea. “I went to visit my brothers. Tenzin is looking much better, and Bumi can sit for at least an hour or two now.” She took a moment and set her tea on the coffee table she and Opal had gifted Lin a week ago. “Tenzin wants to do a masters ceremony for Jinora.”

Lin quirked an eyebrow. “Is she old enough?”

Kya chuckled fondly. “She’s skilled enough, which is what matters.” She sat back and leaned her head against her hand. “I’m just not sure the timing is a good idea.”

Lin nodded. “Because of Korra?”

“Hmm, and everyone is still on the mend. I did some work with Bumi and tried with Korra again.” Kya shook her head and closed her eyes. Lin felt a tinge in her chest at the obvious toll Kya’s recovery and attempts to heal were having on her. “I think it’s going to be a much longer road than anyone is admitting.”

Lin finished her food and sighed. “You’re probably right.”

Kya opened her eyes and winked. “Anyway, why don’t we play a round of pai sho?”

Lin tilted her head. “Are you sure you’re up for that?”

Kya huffed. “Of course.”

Lin shook her head. “Maybe you should take it easy.”

Kya chuckled. “Things must be bad if you’re giving me that advice.”

Lin sighed and got up to put her plate in the sink. They’d grown together in the past couple of weeks, and Lin thought they were almost friends, but she wasn’t sure how to broach the topic she most wanted to bring up. Kya was clearly doing too much, between taking care of Opal, trying to heal the others in the aftermath of Zaheer, and recovering herself. She needed to slow down, but Lin didn’t feel in a position to be able to say so. 

“Lin?” 

Lin turned to find Kya looking up with her face etched with concern. There was so much about that look that tore at Lin. She’d never seen someone (other than Katara, maybe) so quick to focus on caring and checking in with other people. She wondered if Kya ever managed to turn her concern inward. 

“Yeah?”

Kya tilted her head. “You ok?”

Lin nodded. “Yeah, I just brought some files about that group home and I need to take a look.”

Kya looked down. “Oh, are they confidential? I can go in the other room or—”

“No,” interrupted Lin. “I don’t mind the company.”

Kya gave her the kind of gentle smile that made Lin feel like her knees might give out. She gave Kya a nod and stomped back to her files. In truth, she should have let Kya leave the room. Lin was getting too used to her presence. She craved it in a way that terrified her, but somehow she could never manage to say no to an evening together. 

Lin neared her armchair again as Kya tried to stand up. Lin furrowed her brow. “What are you doing?”

“I thought I’d get a book.”

Lin set her files on her chair and moved toward the bookcase opposite the sofa. “Which one?”

Kya chuckled. “Lin, I can get a book. I don’t think I’ll fall on the way.”

_You might,_ thought Lin. “But I can do it for you.” _Please let me_ , her mind added. 

“Okay. I wanted the one on traditional Earth Kingdom architecture. I want to see how much I recognize.”

Lin nodded and produced the book. Kya smiled as she took it. 

They settled in the evening quiet and waited for Opal to return from her date. 

* * *

“I think I’m going to go back and help with the ceremony. Is that ok with you, Aunt Lin?”

Kya watched Lin stiffen then nod. “Sure, kid.” She turned to Kya. “You going back too?”

Kya sighed. She’d thought about it, but every trip to the island left her drained, and there wasn’t much she could offer that the acolytes or Tenzin didn’t already know. “No, I’m just going to show up when they tell me to.”

The tension in Lin’s shoulders eased a fraction. “Tenzin phoned the station about extra security, so I’ll be there.”

Opal smiled. “Did you go to Tenzin’s ceremony?”

Lin shook her head and Kya decided to explain. “It was only Dad and Tenzin, but we had a party when they got back. There weren’t as many acolytes then, and the temples were still being rebuilt.”

Opal nodded slowly. “What about your ceremony, Kya?”

Kya smiled. “It was at the North Pole. It was before there were the few water benders in the South that popped up afterward.”

Opal turned to Lin. “Did you go to Kya’s?”

Lin shook her head, and it wasn’t until she did that Kya remembered the Beifongs had been invited, but she couldn’t recall why they didn’t come. “Toph wasn’t much for the cold.” There was something else in that statement that Kya couldn’t quite decipher. 

“I was at Lin’s though,” offered Kya. 

Lin rolled her eyes. “Please don’t.”

Opal’s eyes widened. “What happened?” 

Kya bit her lip, wanting very much to tell the story of Toph flipping Lin over a bolder and Lin fumbling through her acceptance ceremony, but she knew it wasn’t her story to tell. 

“Just ask your mom when she comes,” stated Kya. 

“Oh,” said Opal quietly. “She can’t make it.”

Kya’s heart broke at Opal’s tone. While it was clear to Kya that Su loved Opal, between running Zaofu and her other four children, there didn’t seem to be much time for Opal. 

Kya leaned toward her and whispered, “I’ll tell you later then.”

Lin rolled her eyes. “I’m right here you know.”

Kya winked. “I know, Chief.”

Later when Opal had gone to bed and Kya settled on the sofa with her book and tea, Kya waited until Lin seemed to be at a break in her files and asked what she’d wondered once she knew Opal would be going back to the island. 

“Are you ok with me still here?”

Lin furrowed her brow. “What?”

Kya nodded toward her room. “With Opal going back, are you ok with me still here? I can leave after the ceremony. I mean, I’ve been here a month, and you don’t have to--”

“Do you want to leave?” 

There was something in Lin’s eyes when she asked the question that made Kya want to say _never_ , but it was silly and much more dramatic than she felt the situation warranted. 

“No,” she answered simply. 

Lin shrugged. “I have the room and you have a key. I don’t mind.” 

Kya smiled. “Thank you, Lin.”

Lin nodded. 

* * *

“Hang in there, kid.”

Kya didn’t try to hide her smile as Lin ascended up the stairs with Asami, Korra, Meelo, and Ikki. 

“Want to tell me what that’s all about?”

Kya furrowed her brow and turned slightly toward Bumi. “What _what_ was all about?”

Bumi chuckled and Kya hated the way he could see right through her. “You and those starry eyes for Republic City’s greatest chief of police.”

Kya glanced over at Tenzin, glad that he was absorbed as ever in the business of running Republic City. She rolled her eyes at Bumi. “Shut up.”

Bumi shrugged. “You could certainly do worse.” She punched him lightly with her better arm. He rubbed his shoulder. “Hey, I’m injured.”

“So am I, and I could still kick your ass.”

Bumi lifted his free hand and almost knocked her over with a gust of wind. “Lookin’ to test that theory?”

Kya ached with the effort to right herself. She’d been stiff before they left and hated how much she missed her chair, but she needed to be upright. Just as she cursed her inability to give in to her brother’s teasing, a steady hand was placed at the small of her back. She looked over at Lin’s gentle gaze. 

“Ready?”

Kya nodded. She noticed Bumi’s raised eyebrows at Lin’s support and stuck her tongue out at him away from Lin’s eyeline. 

“We’ll meet you up there,” said Tenzin, still in discussion with the president and Zuko. 

_Of course you will_ , thought Kya. She tried not to remember Aang stuck in meetings the day of her own master’s ceremony. She shook her head. She’d meant it when she told Tenzin she shouldn’t take her frustrations out on him. Not to mention, while there was an ache in the memory of her father almost missing the ceremony, he hadn’t in the end, and his pride had been more than evident that evening. 

“Kya?”

She blinked a few times and turned to Lin. “Hmm?”

“I have to check on the other officers, but I’ll see you?”

Kya smiled and nodded. “Did you see my--”

“Have you even seen a healer yet?”

Kya shook her head and looked down at her new companion. “Hello, Mom.”

Katara raised an eyebrow at her, then nodded at Lin. “Good to see you, dear, I can take her from here.”

Lin nodded and walked off. 

“You think you could resist embarrassing me in front of my friends? I am almost sixty.”

Katara moved so Kya could place her free hand on Katara’s shoulder for support. Kya almost resisted, but one step told her if she was going to make it through this ceremony, she had no real choice. 

Katara gave her hand a pat. “I’ll stop when you start taking medical advice seriously.”

Kya wanted to mention something about pots and kettles, but kept her mouth shut. “Have you spoken with Korra yet?”

Katara nodded carefully. “It’s going to be a long road.”

Kya waited for Katara to ask her to help, but they made it all the way to the stage for the ceremony and the question didn’t come. Kya knew she was doing all she could here, but there was more, and the weight of the world to come was evident. 

“Tenzin says you’ve been staying with Lin.” Katara’s tone was soft, but her face was hard to read as she turned. Kya nodded. “Good,” was all Katara offered. 

Meelo ran up to them then. “Gran Gran, are waterbending ceremonies this smelly?”

Katara laughed with a warmth that made Kya miss her hut in the South Pole. “Not to me, but your Uncle Bumi begs to differ.”

Bumi shook his head. “You say something _one_ time.”

Kya smiled and leaned on her crutch as the airbenders and acolytes readied themselves for Jinora’s entrance. 

* * *

Lin noticed Kya’s sway around the time Tenzin lifted Jinora’s hood. She wanted nothing more than to step toward her, but knew she couldn’t budge from her post. Her officers had assured her that the Initiative group and its members hadn’t stepped foot on the island, but this was still a golden opportunity that she didn’t want them to take. 

She held her surprise about Tenzin’s announcements on sending airbenders out to help other nations. It was a bold and odd step from a man who seemed to value the Air Nation above anything else. She spared a glance toward Korra, who hadn’t moved an inch the entire time. That same vacant stare on her face. The only time the sadness in her eyes seemed to lift the tiniest fraction was when Meelo or Ikki whispered something to her. 

Lin moved her gaze back to the crowd as they clapped for the end of Tenzin’s speech. When the airbenders left their stage, Lin moved behind them, receiving reports as she made her way to the reception hall. 

“Lin?”

She turned to see Katara staring up at her thoughtfully. “Yes?”

Katara reached out and patted her arm. “Thank you.”

Lin shrugged and assumed Katara meant the ceremony. “It’s my job.”

Katara smiled in a way that always made Lin feel as if she would never know as much as the woman who was almost her mother in law. “Not for this.”

Lin opened her mouth for clarification when Bumi appeared at Katara’s side. 

“Mom, I think Tenzin might finally pop that vein in his forehead if he can’t find you soon. Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing it, but Kya thinks it might worry you.”

Katara chuckled and winked up at Lin before she followed her son. 

It was a few hours later before Lin saw Kya again. She found her sitting on the same bench Lin had helped her to a month ago. Her grip was hard on the edge of her seat and while she stared at the pond in front of her, she wasn’t bending the water. 

Lin checked with the last of her officers and moved to join Kya. “What are you doing out here?”

Kya wrapped her arms around herself and offered Lin a tired smile. “Party is getting a little too wild in there.”

Lin raised an eyebrow. “Jinora is only eleven.”

Kya chuckled fondly. “Eleven year olds can be quite the time.” She nodded to the space next to her. “Take a seat if your security can spare you.”

Lin sat down and glanced around them. There was loud music coming from the reception hall, as well as some sort of cheering she could only assume was being led by Bumi. 

“Lin?”

She looked over at Kya. “Yeah?”

“I think I’m gonna faint.”

It was the only warning Lin had before Kya fell against her. 

* * *

Kya groaned as her eyes opened to a familiar ceiling. The room smelled of lavender and chamomile and she heard quiet movement from somewhere behind her. 

“She’s been out a long time. Maybe Katara was wrong.”

It took Kya a moment to place the voice as Opal’s. 

“She’s never wrong, and she was fine on the trip back. We just have to wait for her to wake up.” 

It sounded as if Lin was trying to convince herself as much as her niece. Kya cleared her throat. “She’s up.” She moved to sit up then immediately laid back down. “Ok, maybe not too far up.”

Lin and Opal rushed to her side. Lin’s gaze was calculated as she glanced over Kya, whereas Opal’s shining eyes never left her face. 

“Are you ok?” asked Opal. 

Kya managed a smile. “Yeah, sweetheart.”

Lin nodded toward her head. “Any headaches or dizziness?”

Kya shook her head gently, glad that the action didn’t aggravate any pain. “Just a little weak.”

“Would you like me to help you sit?”

Kya nodded and Lin pulled her up while Opal readjusted the pillows around her. “Thank you,” said Kya to both of them when she settled. 

“Do you need me to stay?” asked Opal. Her eyes flutter from Kya to her aunt. 

Kya patted her arm. “No, honey, I’ll be ok. I promise. I’m sorry I scared you.”

Opal nodded and kissed Kya’s cheek. “Remember you have to say when it’s too much.”

Kya chuckled and held her Opal’s cheek in her palm. “I know.”

Lin gently pulled Opal up. She looked down at Kya. “Will you be ok for a few minutes?”

Kya nodded. She closed her eyes and tried not to eavesdrop on the hushed tones between aunt and niece. Another voice joined theirs at some point that sounded an awful lot like Bolin. Kya almost fell asleep when she felt a cool compress against her forehead. 

“Kya?”

Lin’s voice was softer than she’d ever heard it. Kya opened her eyes to see Lin sitting across from her on the coffee table. Her hands were clenched in fists on her thighs and she looked the most worried Kya had ever seen her. 

“I’m here.”

Lin looked distracted as she nodded. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

Kya sighed. “It’s Jinora’s day and I didn’t want to… oh, damn, she didn’t see me did she?”

Lin shook her head. “No, no. I had an officer tell your family we were leaving. Katara did come to heal you quickly and give me instructions. The only reason Opal was here is because she saw me,” she paused and cleared her throat, “carry you out.”

Kya’s eyes widened. “You carried me?” 

She hadn’t been this disappointed to miss something in some time. 

“You _fainted_ , Kya. What was I supposed to do?”

Kya sighed. “I’m sorry, Lin. I didn’t mean to get in the way of—”

Lin huffed and stood up. “You aren’t in the way.” She lifted her arms and huffed again as she dropped them and started pacing. “You were exhausted and you didn’t say anything. You have to say something. You have to,” she paused and took a deep breath, “take care of yourself and… let me-- I mean, the rest of us help.”

Kya nodded slowly, taken aback by Lin’s response. “Ok.”

Lin looked at her a long moment before she walked into the kitchen to grab a cup of tea and a tray. She placed it over Kya’s lap. “Promise you’ll say something next time.”

Kya took a sip of tea and let it warm her as much as Lin’s care. “I promise.”


	3. I Can't Have You But I Have Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up, next chapter will include a rating increase. If you have a moment, please let me know what you think.

> I keep it to myself
> 
> I know what it means
> 
> **I can't have you but I have dreams**

Dreams~Brandi Carlile

A couple of days later, Kya sat in a meeting with Katara, Tonraq, Senna, and Tenzin. Asami attended as well, but only to give minor updates about Korra’s daily activities. Kya hadn’t been comfortable without Korra, but as she wasn’t her parent or official mentor, her insistence on Asami’s presence had been the compromise. 

“She needs to come home,” insisted Tonraq, an argument he’d made since he was well enough to sit up. 

“But what kind of message does that send?” Tenzin countered. 

Tonraq slammed his fist on the table. “You’re telling me if Jinora went through the same thing and you had the ability to take her away, somewhere well away from too many people and responsibility she can’t handle, you wouldn’t?”

“But there’s a--”

“Enough,” said Kya. She looked to her mother. “You’ve seen her now. What do you think?”

Katara took a deep breath. “I agree with Tonraq. I think the South Pole would be a better place for her to be. It’s a closer source to obtain spirit water when we need it, and it’s familiar.” Asami let out a small gasp from her corner of the room. Katara offered her a gentle smile. “But she has also built a life in Republic City, and we owe it to her to see if it’s enough for her to heal here. The island is remote enough. Asami and Kya can go back and forth to the city for anything we don’t grow or have here.”

Senna cleared her throat for the first time. “Three weeks.”

Kya tilted her head. “What?”

Senna nodded decisively. “You get three more weeks. It’s been a month, and she’s had no physical improvement.” She shook her head. “I won’t pretend a time limit on anything else is reasonable. She needs to progress significantly in three weeks or else it doesn’t make sense to keep her here.”

“But,” started Tenzin but stopped when Katara raised her hand in warning. 

“Tonraq, can you give us three weeks? You and Senna can attend to a few things in the South and when you return, if you aren’t satisfied, then we’ll take her home.”

Tonraq huffed but nodded. “Three weeks.”

“Three weeks,” repeated Kya. They would need a miracle.

* * *

“Did the boat come with your job, or do you just like to ride?” asked Kya as they boarded the small vessel Lin sometimes used to go to the island. She could have taken an airship too, but it was only the two of them and this was less of a chore to justify on her expense report. 

Lin adjusted her sunglasses. “It’s a benefit.”

Kya chuckled softly. “I appreciate it. I could have just as easily taken the ferry you know?”

Lin shrugged. She did know. She also knew that even as Kya had improved in the last week, resting when she ought to and not over extending herself, it was still quite the task to go from one place to the next. It was just practical for Lin to step in. 

Kya bent a wave, then moved closer to where Lin was driving. Lin tried her best not to react, but found that a harder task with each passing day she spent with Kya. 

Kya tapped on the steering wheel. “Wanna teach me how to steer, Chief?”

Lin lifted an eyebrow. “No.”

Kya smiled and nudged Lin’s shoulder. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

Lin shook her head. “How can I trust we won’t end up miles away in the wrong direction?”

For a moment, Lin let herself picture it. A journey where the only constant would be Kya. _Might not be the worst thing_ , she thought before she shook her head and willed the thought away. 

Kya crossed her arms. “Oh, come on, Lin, don’t you trust me?”

_More than you know_ , she thought. Lin nodded toward the horizon as the island came into view. “We’re almost there.”

Kya pouted and Lin fought the urge to lean forward and kiss the look off of her face. Her resolution to diminish her crush had not gone to plan, but she hadn’t spent years practicing restraint in multiple areas of her life for nothing. Not to mention, she was sure Kya wouldn’t even think of her like that. 

“Spoilsport,” muttered Kya. 

Lin sighed. “Here,” she said as she pointed toward the steering wheel. 

Kya’s eyes lit up and Lin felt the familiar urge to investigate anything that made Kya’s face brighten like that. “Really?”

Lin shrugged. “I’ve seen you manage with an oar, and I’m here in case you decide to take an unexpected detour.”

Kya winked as she put her hands on the wheel. “Oh, ye of little faith, Chief.”

Lin rolled her eyes and stepped aside. Out of the corner of her eye, she took Kya’s profile in and felt her heart hammer against her chest. The strands of silver hair that usually framed Kya’s face blew in the breeze over the water, her laugh lines crinkled as she smiled, looking excited and at peace all at once. _Damn_ , thought Lin. 

They rode in silence until they were close to the dock. Lin noticed a shift in Kya’s stature then. She’d been loose and relaxed the entire ride. Now she straightened her shoulders and took one hand off the steering wheel, stepping back.

“I guess you’ll want this back.”

Her voice held a firmness Lin wasn’t used to hearing from her. Lin opened her mouth to try and ask what was wrong before she realized she didn’t have the words. Instead she stepped closer and took the wheel from Kya. 

Kya readied the rope to tie them to the dock and completed the action once they were close so quickly that Lin could hardly get out the request to do it herself. It wasn’t long before three bouncing balls of air rounded on them. Lin watched Kya put on a smile that looked as if it took a great deal of effort. 

When they stepped onto the dock, Lin double checked Kya’s rope work in order to give her time to properly greet Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo. 

“Opal wanted to know if you have a few minutes after you meet with Dad.”

Lin looked down at Jinora. “Of course.”

Jinora nodded and lept up the stairs with her siblings. Kya watched them fly up, then considered the stairs. It wasn’t entirely necessary on Lin’s part, and she knew Kya was working on her endurance, but Lin still felt compelled to offer. 

“Want a lift?”

The tender smile Kya bestowed on her made Lin avert her eyes quickly. Sometimes looking at Kya was like looking into the sun, and Lin feared that even with her sunglasses, Kya might see how much that smile affected her. 

“Thank you,” whispered Kya once they reached the top. Lin nodded and left while Katara greeted Kya. 

* * *

“Made any progress on moving yourself?”

Korra shrugged and sighed as she pushed her wheels. She took a deep breath when they reached the courtyard. “Bending exercises?”

Kya shook her head. She saw how much effort the words were to get out and how shallow Korra’s breathing was. She wished Korra’s progress would move more quickly, but it wasn’t her job to push. She left that to her mother. 

“I just thought we’d get some sun.” She considered Korra’s chair. “What do you say you help me out with some of my exercises and let me push?”

Korra only pulled her hands into her lap. They were silent as Kya moved them to the edge of one of the flower gardens. She locked Korra’s chair and pulled a bench closer to sit opposite her. 

Kya tilted her head. “Did you parents tell you what they decided?”

Korra nodded slowly. “They want me to go back.”

“What do you want?”

Korra turned her head toward the southwest courtyard where a few airbenders were practicing forms. “I don’t know.”

Kya nodded. “Anything else you want to talk about? I bet Bolin is keeping you updated with city gossip and you got Asami for girltime. I just—”

“He says you’re living with Lin.”

Kya knitted her brow. “Who?”

“Bolin,” replied Korra. 

Kya chuckled. “Oh, yeah.”

Korra looked into her eyes for the first time since they’d come back from the fight with Zaheer. Kya immediately missed the usual mischievous glint that had become so synonymous with the young woman. 

Instead, Korra looked just as dejected as she had all this time. “How is it?”

“Living with Lin? Why do you want to know? You miss me up here? I think you’d have enough company.”

Korra took a long moment before she shook her head. “Nevermind.”

“No, wait, sweetie,” said Kya as she reached out a hand, but pulled back when Korra stiffened. “What would you like to know?” 

“Does she still sleep in her uniform pants?”

Kya laughed so hard it made Korra jump. Kya settled down and almost apologized, but she could tell Korra was amused. “I think it technically falls under state secrets.”

Korra shrugged. “In Zaofu, she…” She shook her head and sighed. 

Kya wished she had some magic way to pull Korra out of the darkness of her recovery. She’d seen similar depression and struggle in a host of different patients, and while she had a variety of approaches to help, her loved ones were always different. It just never seemed like she could do enough. She took a deep breath and hoped her next statements could at least offer comfort in humor. 

“She can tell when I get up late for ice cream. It really takes the fun out of trying to be sneaky. She’s got these cool books on architecture and the fanciest radio I’ve ever seen.”

The corner of Korra’s mouth almost turned up and Kya counted it as a win. “Architecture?”

Kya nodded. “Who knew?”

“There you two are.”

Asami smiled at them and Korra looked up slowly. “Here we are,” stated Korra flatly. 

Kya had wondered when she first noticed Asami’s constant presence if it bothered Korra, but she’d seen the way Korra’s shoulders loosened ever so slightly in the other woman’s presence. 

Asami held up a pack of tapes. “I bought you some old pro bending matches to listen to.”

Korra’s face was gentle as she nodded. “Thanks.”

Asami nodded at Kya. “Lin is with Opal. She says she’ll see you in ten minutes.”

Kya winked. “I’ll make sure to take fifteen.”

* * *

“They keep being two steps ahead of us,” sighed Mako as he stood in front of Lin’s desk.

Lin sighed too. “So what are you planning to do?”

Mako pointed to the second stack of paperwork on Lin’s desk. “We’ve found their home base for taking injured members. Maybe if we don’t try to get ahead and just follow them during the next incident, we might get something. They tend to leave their injured behind and the house is pretty easy to break into.”

Lin considered a moment. She didn’t like allowing a crime to happen before acting, but Mako made a compelling point. What they currently were attempting wasn’t working. It was a solid plan. 

“Go with it. Let me know what you need and don’t forget to call for enough back up. We know they’re frustrated they missed attacking at the ceremony. We can’t afford to sleep on what they might do out of desperation.” 

Mako nodded. “Thank you, Chief.” 

Lin glanced between the clock and the stack of papers on her desk as Mako closed the door behind him. It was late enough to call it a day and she could bring the work home. 

* * *

There was a note on the dining table when Lin entered the apartment that evening. 

_Left you a plate. Meditating, then taking a shower if you need me._

Lin allowed herself a small smile before she shook her head. She warmed up her plate and set files on the table. It was probably going to be a long night. She didn’t dwell too hard on the fact that she’d rather be home with paperwork over her office. 

The meal was delicious and Lin considered how long Kya must have spent on it. She bit her lip and sighed; Kya did so much for her. There had to be an end point somewhere, and Lin dreaded the day she might find it. Kya was never one for staying in a fixed place too long, and Lin worried about the day her home would become boring enough for Kya to leave. 

Lin thumbed through the stack of paperwork she needed to sign and marveled at how these requests piled up so quickly. She moved onto tea and case files after she finished. The sound of water turning on in the bathroom startled her. She looked up, confused at how she’d missed Kya coming out from her meditation session. She shrugged and moved to the living room. 

“Lin?” called Kya from the bathroom.

“Yeah?” asked Lin. She closed the file on the coffee table and put her head in her hands. 

There was a strange pause before Kya responded. “Could you… uh, come in here?”

Lin furrowed her brow as she stood and strode into the guest bathroom. She was glad Kya didn’t possess her gift of seismic sense, as the sight that greeted Lin made her heart rate increase. 

Kya sat on the edge of the tub with a towel tied above her chest, her eyes flitting around the bathroom. She’d braided her hair in two long braids on each side, water still dripping from the ends. She’d crossed her ankles, her long legs glistening in the soft light of the room. Lin did her best to keep her gaze on Kya’s face. 

“What is it?”

Kya nodded toward the sink. Her usual brown hair ties sat on the edge. “I just need some help with my hair. I kind of spent too much energy bending the water and braiding it.”

Lin flexed her fingers and nodded. “I should warn you that my experience with,” she sighed and tried not to look down at Kya’s beautiful collarbone, “long hair is limited.”

Kya smiled. “It’s ok. I’ve done most of the work, but my arms are too tired to pull it up. Just wrap these,” she pointed at her braids, “together and tie them into a bun at the nape of my neck.” 

Lin took a deep breath, gathered the ties and approached her slowly. She pulled up Kya’s hair and tried not to think of the pleasant mix of how slick and soft it felt in her hands. She pulled all her focus on her task and managed to linger only a fraction longer than she meant on securing Kya’s bun. She was sure as hard as she tried to block it out that the memory of Kya’s hair and brief brush of skin to Lin’s fingertips would follow her into her dreams that night. 

“Thank you,” whispered Kya. She surprised Lin by turning and squeezing her hand briefly. 

Lin nodded and slipped from under her grasp. “There’s, uh, tea in the living room if you’re interested.”

Kya nodded. “See you soon.”

Lin closed the door behind her and sighed against it. Maybe she should have stayed at the station. 

* * *

“You should take it easy,” Suvali paused at Kya’s groan, “I know, I know, but you should try.”

Kya waved a hand in dismissal. “Fine, but get to the good stuff.” She swung her legs and hopped down from the examination bench. 

Suvali chuckled at her and looked toward Opal, Jinora, and Lin. “You are cleared to continue healing duties and from using your crutch.”

Kya reached up and high fived an excited Opal and Jinora. 

“How long should she be conducting a healing session?” asked Lin. 

Kya sighed and lightly pushed Lin’s shoulder. “I’m cleared, that’s what’s important. Stop worrying and let’s get that ice cream we promised.”

Lin didn’t budge and Suvali gave her a gentle smile. 

“She should limit extensive sessions, but she can use her own discretion.” She nodded toward Kya. “You’ve healed nicely.”

Kya winked and put her arms around Opal and Jinora’s shoulders. “See? Let’s go!” 

Kya was glad to hear her new healer confirm what she’d felt in the last week. She was still tired sometimes, but she felt more like herself than she had during her entire recovery. She wanted to celebrate and bend without limits. While she appreciated Lin’s concerns, she wanted her to join in on the fun. 

Jinora put an arm around Kya’s waist as Opal bounced along happily. Kya also wished Lin could just savor how wonderful it was to spend an afternoon with their nieces. Jinora had been busy planning where to send airbenders with her father and Opal was trying to decide whether to relocate near Zaofu or stay in Republic City. Kya knew Lin would never ask her niece to stay and it was the possibility she might leave that made a day like today all the more important. 

When they exited the hospital, Kya tapped both Opal and Jinora. “You two run ahead, we’re right behind you.”

The girls grabbed one another’s hands and skipped toward the sweet shop a couple of blocks ahead. Lin looked distracted and Kya bumped lightly into her side. 

“What’s on your mind?”

Lin gave her a long look. “Are you sure you’re feeling better?”

Kya twirled. “Don’t I look better?”

“You did before, and then at the ceremony…”

Kya’s heart fell. She hated how much Lin worried since that evening. While it was nice to know she cared, Kya had been careful since. She took breaks when she needed to and she did accept help at least half the time. 

“I promised it wouldn’t happen again. It won’t, Lin, I swear.”

Lin nodded as they reached the sweet shop and opened the door for Kya. 

Kya winked. “Ice cream on me, Chief?”

Lin shook her head. “Nonsense, I offered.” 

Kya almost insisted, but Lin had that determined look on her face that told Kya she wouldn’t be successful in her attempts to protest. She tried and failed not to find the look incredibly attractive. 

Kya moved up to where the girls were trying to choose their flavors. She pointed up at the list. “Can never go wrong with moon peach.”

Jinora rolled her eyes and looked over at Opal. “Aunt Kya always gets moon peach. She says she’s tried the other flavors but I don’t trust it.”

Opal chuckled and Kya pouted. Kya looked back at Lin. “Jump in here. We used to get ice cream with Uncle Sokka sometimes. Lin, tell the girls you’ve seen me try all the flavors.”

Lin tilted her head. “I remember you stealing moon peach from Bumi and insisting Tenzin get it too, knowing he wouldn’t eat it.”

Kya narrowed her eyes. “Just for that, I’m getting three scoops.” She winked at the girls. “Get all you want, ladies. It’s on Aunt Betrayer over here.”

“And I was so looking forward to splitting a sundae with you.” 

Despite Lin’s sarcastic tone, Kya felt her cheeks warm at the idea. She opened her mouth to say something when Opal spoke first. 

“I think I’ll go with strawberry and vanilla,” she said toward the cashier. She turned back to Lin. “If that’s ok?”

Lin just gave her a polite nod. 

Jinora smiled. “Hey, if I get watermelon and raspberry, you want to share?”

Opal’s smile was wide as she answered, “of course.”

Kya leaned over to whisper to Lin. “I’m glad they have each other. I get worried about her on that island with no girls close to her age besides her sister.”

Lin nodded toward the ice cream. “Don’t forget your three scoops of moon peach.”

Kya considered ordering something else to prove them all wrong, but she had been craving the flavor since she made the suggestion, so she ordered out of earshot of their nieces and turned to Lin. 

Lin pulled out her wallet to pay when Kya stopped her. “You have to get something. It’s in the rules of ice cream afternoons.”

Lin raised her eyebrow. “Official rules, are they?”

Kya smiled. “Of course. And I know how you feel about rules, Chief.”

“Fine,” said Lin. “Vanilla.”

Kya sighed. “Lin, all these choices and you’re going with vanilla?”

“You had no problem when Opal ordered it.” Kya rolled her eyes and Lin sighed. “Moon peach then.”

Kya beamed. “That’s more like it.”

* * *

Opal wandered closer to Lin on the boat ride back to the island. Kya was creating waves in the back while Jinora chatted about the plans to send airbenders all around the world and everywhere she’d like to go. 

“Have you traveled a lot, Aunt Lin?”

Lin looked over, blinking a few times to come back from where her mind had wandered. It seemed Opal valued silence as much as Lin, but it was occasionally disorienting when she did like to speak. Or perhaps it was confusing to Lin what made her so fascinating to her niece. 

“Depends on what you’d define as ‘a lot.’ I’ve been to Omashu to see your great-grandparents, when they were alive; Ember Island a few times; Kyoshi Island; and the Fire Nation; but I’ve spent the most time here in the city.”

Opal nodded thoughtfully. “You’ve never wanted to go anywhere else?”

Lin shrugged. It was hard to decipher so late in her life if she stayed because she thought it was an expectation, or if she ever felt the inclination for something different. She supposed it didn’t make much difference now. Her life was in Republic City, and that was where she wished to stay. “Not really.” 

Opal hummed and looked back to see Kya create frozen discs that Jinora spun with air. “Jinora knows where she wants to visit. She has a whole list of places and their histories.”

Lin rounded a corner and heard Kya whoop as Jinora started to juggle the frozen discs. “Anywhere you think you might want to go?”

Opal shrugged. “I think it would be nice to visit the other temples, but I like it here too.”

Lin nodded. “You don’t have to decide right now. You have time.”

Opal smiled. “Thank you.”

Kya came up and squeezed Lin’s arm. Lin did her best not to let her grip falter on the steering wheel. Kya was touching her more and more lately. Casual, perhaps even meaningless touches to anyone used to it, but it was a thrill and a shock to Lin every time. She could never decide if she wanted Kya to stop or keep going. 

“Think you could give us a few fast turns?”

Lin scoffed. “This isn’t a ride at the amusement park, you know.”

Kya tilted her head. “No, but you got ice cream, which thank you again for your leftovers; you went to an arcade; and you let us stay late in the park for fireworks. You gotta complete the auntie award punch card or you don’t get the prize.” 

Lin rolled her eyes. “What’s the prize?”

Kya leaned forward and whispered, “No messing up the living room with my stuff for two days and takeout tomorrow.”

Lin tried to suppress a shiver at the way Kya’s breath brushed up against her ear. “Hang on.” She turned the boat a few good times while Kya and Jinora squealed. Opal tilted her head in thought and smiled. 

When Lin finished and straightened out her steering toward the island, Kya and Jinora collapsed in a giggling heap on the seat in the back of the boat. Opal turned back to her aunt. “You think she’ll stay?”

Lin quirked an eyebrow. “Who?”

“Kya,” answered Opal. “You’re pretty close now. You think she’ll stay in Republic City?”

Lin shrugged. “Ask her.” She heard the catch in her voice and hated herself for it. Opal was just making conversation and had no idea that Lin asked herself that question on a daily basis, too hopeful for an affirmative answer. She worried Opal might take her deflection the wrong way. 

Opal, however, gave her a gentle smile. “I think she will.”

* * *

Lin knew she shouldn’t have gone to meet her detectives. It wasn’t as if she didn’t trust Mako and Zhang Min; she just had to do something for Korra. Something that required action rather than listening to Kya’s worried voice as Korra continued to struggle. Her body ached in reminder that she couldn’t just dive headfirst into the action like she used to. 

“Chief, you sure you don’t want us to call a healer?”

Lin shook her head at Zhang Min’s question and held in a wince as she leaned forward in the van. “It’s late.” 

_And at worst, I have one at home_ , she thought. Not that she had any intention of asking Kya. There was no need to put up a fuss. She hoped the other woman would be fast asleep when she finally got in. 

“I’m sorry they got you, Chief,” whispered Mako. He lay on the bench in the back, arm pulled against his chest, wrapped by Suvali, the same healer who cleared Kya a few days prior. Lin tried not to think too much about that. 

“At least we’re closer to some payoff,” offered Lin. She nodded at him. “Good work, kid.”

Zhang Min stopped the van. “Your stop, Chief.”

Lin patted the space next to Mako. “Save your reports for a few days and rest.”

“You too,” said Mako. 

* * *

Kya looked up from her book as the lock clicked open and Lin walked inside. Her gait was slower than usual and she kept an arm around her middle after she bent off her armor and secured the front door. 

“Hey,” greeted Kya. 

Lin grunted in response and made her way to the spare bathroom. Kya stayed on the sofa until she heard Lin curse. She closed her book and moved to lean in the doorway. 

She took in the half-hearted bandage job on Lin’s hand and the way Lin favored her right side. “Are you hurt?”

Lin waved a hand in dismissal. “It’s not a big deal.”

Kya shook her head. She wondered if Lin had ever been shot and told everyone she could just walk it off. There were probably days where Lin really thought she could. 

“And you refused a healer.”

Lin shrugged. “It’s just some bruising. I’ve had worse.”

Kya put a hand on her hip and nodded toward her. “Let me look.”

Lin rolled her eyes. “Like I said, it’s not a big deal.”

Kya pushed off the doorway and lightly nudged Lin’s shoulders so she would sit on the toilet. “Let me be the judge of that.”

Lin took a deep breath and looked up at her. The concern gave Kya pause. The last thing Kya wanted to do was overstep, but she didn’t want Lin to be in unnecessary pain either. Even if Lin refused to admit to such. “You just got better.”

Kya pulled Lin’s beat up first aid kit from the medicine cabinet and uncapped her own water pouch. “Which means this is the perfect time.”

Lin sighed and lifted her head so Kya could take a proper look. Kya cleaned the cut near Lin’s eye before she bent water to heal it. She started to unwrap Lin’s hand and noticed the way she pulled in her lips when Kya pulled at the bandages. The bruising was worse than Lin was making it out to be. 

_No surprise there_ , thought Kya. While she healed some of the bruises and cleaned a few more cuts, she tsked. “Go a little too hard on your recruits?”

Lin scoffed. “As if they ever get a hit in.” She sighed and let out a small hiss when Kya gently pulled the arm from her torso away. “It was a bust I went on with Mako.”

Kya lifted an eyebrow as she bent water around Lin’s middle, grateful she couldn’t feel any broken bones. “Did you catch them at least?”

Lin nodded stiffly. “Not all, but enough.”

Kya pulled out a larger bandage. She nodded toward Lin’s torso. “Do you mind?”

Lin cocked her head to the side. “If I say yes, would it actually change your mind?”

Kya smiled. “On whether or not you need it? No.” She relaxed her smile and peered down at Lin gently. “But I won’t do anything you don’t want me to.”

Lin held her gaze for a moment before she moved forward on her seat and lifted her arms. Kya pulled up Lin’s tank top, more than a little sad that she wasn’t doing this under different circumstances. She did her best to only focus on dressing Lin’s wound, which she managed, but not before noting the fact that even with bruising, Lin had a fantastic torso. She stepped back as soon as she was done in an effort to give them both space. 

Kya packed up Lin’s med kit and turned to go back to her book when Lin caught her wrist. Kya looked down and it seemed to only occur to Lin then that she’d physically reached out for Kya. 

Lin dropped her hand immediately and sighed. “Thank you.”

Kya smiled. “Any time. Did you manage dinner before your big chase or are you hungry?”

Lin shrugged. “I could eat.”

Kya winked. “I’m on it.” She closed the bathroom door behind her and took a deep breath. Lin Beifong was going to be the death of her, and she couldn’t find it in herself to view it as a bad thing. 

* * *

Kya sighed as she took a moment against the wall. Volunteering at Republic City Hospital had always been one of her favorite activities when she came to stay with her brother, but this afternoon’s shift following a full morning with Korra was probably a bit too much. 

_You know if you ever want a job, I’d hire you in a second._

She spun a key ring around her index finger as she considered Sonali’s offer. It wasn’t a new one. Sonali had been saying it for five years, but for the first time, Kya didn’t feel the need to shrug it off. Twenty years on and off again in the South Pole with her mother was something she’d needed as she grieved too many of her childhood heroes, but maybe it was time for a change. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to build a life in the same place as her brothers, or her…

Kya pushed off the wall and shook her head. Lin was a friend. A friend who had helped her through a difficult time. A friend she might be able to call on if she did end up in the city. Anything more needed to remain in the dreams Kya was finding harder and harder to ignore. 

She knitted her eyebrows as she neared the apartment door and smelled one of the most delicious and familiar array of scents she’d experienced in a while. 

She opened the door and pulled off her boots, confused at the soft jazz that filtered in through the living room. A curse sounded in the kitchen and Kya set her keys in Lin’s bowl before she locked the door and rounded the corner. 

“Lin?” 

The sight that greeted her struck her so much that Kya blinked a few times to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Lin was stirring a large pot on the stove, dressed in a dark green sleeveless button up and the same dark grey slacks she’d worn for their dinner with Opal and Bolin. The dining table was filled with various dishes: dumplings, tofu and mung bean curry, rice, kale cookies, macaroons, and what looked like moon peach cobbler. 

Lin turned and nodded toward her as she put the pot in the middle of the table. Kya realized it was stewed sea prunes, and they smelled remarkably like Katara’s. 

Kya smiled slowly. “You got a hot date, Chief?”

Lin placed the kitchen mitts she’d used to lift the pot on the counter and placed her hands on her hips. “It’s, well, it’s supposed to be for you.”

Kya felt her heart flutter at the combination of the words and the hesitancy in Lin’s eyes. “Is there a special occasion I’m missing?”

Lin shook her head and held out Kya’s chair. “No,” she answered simply. 

Kya sat in her chair, feeling slightly underdressed and a bit overwhelmed. She opened and closed her mouth a few times but couldn’t seem to find the words to thank Lin or to ask the question burning in her heart. _Why would you do all this for me?_

“Wine or mango juice? I wasn’t sure which you’d--”

“Juice is fine,” answered Kya. She worried about how loose lipped she might become with all of this emotion swelling inside of her. 

Lin poured the same for herself then gestured toward the table. “I hadn’t really decided on an order.”

_You never follow it_ , went unsaid and the warmth in Kya’s chest grew. 

Kya reached for a plate of dumplings and offered it to Lin before she served herself. “Did you really make all of this?”

Lin scoffed. “Did you think the knives, serving ware, and cutting boards were just for show?”

Kya shrugged as she moved onto the soup. “No, it’s just, you always talk about how you’re never here and I did wonder if it all just somehow came with the apartment.”

Lin lightly took the ladle from Kya and served her before she turned to her own bowl. “I am hardly ever here, but it doesn’t mean I don’t plan for when I am.”

Kya took a sip of her soup and smiled. “Tell me again how you’re single?”

Lin shrugged. “Not many women are happy with the hours I keep.”

_I knew it_ , thought Kya. She had thought so many times to ask about Lin’s dating tendencies, but until this very moment she hadn’t exactly found the right opportunity. Kya wiped the corner of her mouth. “And the men?”

Lin rolled her eyes. “The last one was your brother, and we both know that’s not a conversation that would offer any new insight.”

Kya hummed in agreement. “How’s your case?”

Lin took a sip of juice. “Which one?”

Kya waved her spoon in the air. “The one with Mako that has you up pacing at night.”

Lin’s eyes widened. “I didn’t think you could hear me.”

“Well, not every night,” offered Kya. 

She didn’t want to admit that if she heard Lin come through the door and not immediately go to her room, she always waited. Occasionally she pretended a convenient trip to the bathroom in case Lin needed to talk, but she always found she couldn’t sleep because she was filled with the need to make things better but never quite sure how. 

“It’s hit a wall.”

Kya tilted her head in sympathy. “I’m sorry.”

Lin shrugged but her eyes were a bit unfocused. “It happens.” She cleared her throat and turned to Kya. “How was the hospital?”

“Crowded and busy, but good.”

“And Korra?”

Kya bit her lip and shook her head. They were running out of time, and this sort of healing couldn’t be rushed. 

Lin nodded. “Asami stopped by with lunch for Mako before she went to trade off with you.”

Kya tilted her head. “She didn’t mention.”

“I only saw her from across the pen. I,” she paused and peered down into her soup, “didn’t really know what to say.”

Kya reached out and patted Lin’s forearm, careful not to linger. “It’s hard to know.”

Lin looked from her arm to Kya then nodded. 

Kya gestured toward the radio in Lin’s room. “I wouldn’t assume you were a jazz fan.”

“You are,” offered Lin. 

For a moment, Kya wondered if this dinner was more than it appeared. Lin wasn’t the best with words and living here for almost two months taught Kya that Lin was a woman of action in every sense. 

What if…

The phone rang from its place on the wall and Lin threw her napkin on the table before she picked up the receiver. 

“Chief Beifong.”

Kya zoned out the conversation, not able to truly understand with only Lin’s half. She half hoped Lin had to go in, as she realized she wasn’t ready for the question that sprang from her thoughts a moment earlier. Lin hung up the phone and sat back down. 

“Do you have to go back?” Kya did her best to keep her tone even. 

Lin shook her head. “No, I,” she paused and focused on a point past Kya’s shoulder, “I asked not to be disturbed unless it was urgent, and the rookie on call hadn’t realized the extent of the request.”

Kya took a sip of juice. “Go easy on ‘em, Chief.” 

Lin cleared her throat and refocused on her food. They ate in silence for a while. It was gentle and comfortable, but Kya couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility that this could be more than just a simple thank-you dinner. She tried to find signs in the way Lin looked or moved, but came up empty. 

When they finished, they moved to the living room with tea. Lin sat in her armchair and drummed her fingers along the armrest. 

Kya furrowed her brow. “Something on your mind?”

“What?” she asked. Kya glanced at Lin’s fingers and Lin immediately stopped. “No, I just,” she sighed, “I just want to say thank you for what you did, during and after Zaheer.”

Kya tilted her head. “I didn’t really do anything. I should be thanking you. You’re the one that rescued us and helped Su take out P’li, and--”

“You saved Opal’s life.”

Kya knitted her eyebrows. “What?”

Lin nodded. “It’s what she told me the night she asked to stay here. When Ming-Hua had her, she said you pleaded for her. Before that, you made sure she felt at home. When you got here, you,” she paused and looked up at the ceiling before she looked down at her lap, “you helped me connect with her, and you’ve cooked when you didn’t have to, patched me up. I just… thank you.”

Kya felt the instinct to protest. After all, she had only been trying to be friendly with Opal when the young girl arrived and was surprised when she found herself more connected than she’d expected. Lin’s face was so open in that moment and Kya knew how hard it must have been for her to express such a sentiment. 

Kya’s chest exploded with warmth. She smiled slowly. “You’re welcome.” Lin looked slightly lost after that and Kya could only imagine how much effort she’d put in preparation for that evening. “Pai sho?”

Lin nodded and got out her board. Kya thought even if the evening was just a friendly thank you, maybe that was enough to take Sonali’s offer and stay. Lin handed her the pieces to the board and Kya smiled. Yes, it could be enough. 


	4. Hope I Will Do No Wrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Trust me ;).

> So I put my arms around you, around you  
> And I **hope that I will do no wrong**  
>  My eyes are on you, they're on you  
> And I hope that you won't hurt me

Dancing~Elisa

Lin kept her distance while Kya bent shapes in the water for Ikki and Meelo. A few airbenders stopped to watch as well, forming a semicircle around the trio that kept Lin from being discovered. She wasn’t sure how long they’d all been there, but they were having so much fun; she didn’t want to interrupt them. She sighed and looked down to her officers lining the docks. The extra security for Korra was stretching her budget thin; if they couldn’t catch this assassin group soon, justifying the expense was going to be a headache she wasn’t looking forward to.

_At least she’s safe_ , thought Lin. She saw Asami wheel Korra down a nearby hallway, stopping when Korra whispered something. They both looked over at Kya. Asami smiled and Korra just stared. Lin felt her heart ache at how distant Korra still seemed. If anyone had told her a year ago that she’d long for the Avatar to create some mess that she needed to help clean up, she would have sworn they’d been drinking too much cactus juice. Now, however, she’d give anything to have Korra accidentally manifest a catastrophe. 

“Hi,” whispered a voice from the tree behind Lin. 

Lin turned to greet her niece. “Hello.”

Opal smiled. “I wanted to catch you before you left.”

Lin nodded. “So you did.”

Opal moved to lean on the tree beside Lin. “I think I know what I want to do.”

Lin tilted her head. “Oh?”

Opal nodded. “Tenzin is planning to stay and meet a few more new airbenders. We’ve gotten reports of some that didn’t come with the initial wave. He wants a few people to act as a welcoming committee. I think it might be the best place for me for a while.”

A warmth flooded Lin’s chest, but her face retained its usual stoicism. “I think you’ll do well.”

Lin stepped back suddenly as a pair of arms were flung around her neck. 

“Thank you for all your help, Aunt Lin. I hope you won’t mind my coming into the city to see you sometimes.”

Lin gave Opal’s back a firm pat. “As long as you send word first, I’ll never mind.”

Opal gave her a squeeze before she let go. She nodded toward Kya. “Jinora told me that Kya makes up stories to go with her dances and bending. She’s created a different one for every niece and nephew.”

Lin allowed herself a small smile at that. Of course it was something Kya would do. She shrugged. “I’m not the singing type.”

Opal beamed at her. “I’d never expect you to be.”

Lin didn’t know what she’d done to be gifted with such a kind niece, but she’d never been more grateful that she decided to reconcile with Su. For as much as things were far from fixed, at least she had Opal. 

A small splash of water hit her face and Lin scowled at the sender. Kya only winked and went back to her dancing. Lin realized she hadn’t been as stealthy as she thought. Then Kya laughed and smiled as Meelo rode on an airball atop one of her waves. Lin almost allowed herself a full smile then. 

Almost.

* * *

Kya laid down at the back of the boat as Lin steered it toward the city. She was glad Ikki and Meelo had come at the end of Korra’s session. Korra was still only moving at a snail’s pace and it was becoming more apparent as their deadline loomed that she wouldn’t be at the island for much longer. 

Logically, Kya knew she’d done all she could, but there still existed a voice in her head running through all the things she could have done better. Perhaps if she’d looked more closely when Zaheer had arrived at the island or if she had managed to take down Ming-Hua, she could have saved Korra some pain. 

“You’re quiet.”

Kya chuckled, relieved to have those particular thoughts interrupted. “I’m capable of it from time to time.” She closed her eyes and smiled at the sound of Lin’s scoff. 

“That isn’t what I meant.”

Kya hummed. “Maybe I’m sleeping.”

“Your heart rate isn’t slow enough for that.”

Kya opened her eyes and turned to look up at Lin. She was turned toward Kya, using her bending to steer the ship. Kya tilted her head. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

Lin tilted her head. “It’s a metal casing.”

“Of course it is.” Kya sat up. “You’re listening to my heartbeat?”

Lin turned and looked at the water behind Kya. “I listen to everyone’s.”

Kya smiled slowly. “But you know mine so well you can tell it apart?” Kya bit her lip. The statement had come out a little more sultry than she’d meant it. 

Luckily (or maybe not so luckily; it was getting harder to tell), Lin seemed unfazed. She raised her eyebrows. “You are the only other person on this boat.”

Kya nodded. “You want to pick up food on the way back?” She realized as she leaned back against the cushioned seat that she might not have enough energy to cook. 

Lin moved closer. “Are you feeling all right?”

“Don’t worry, Chief. It’s only a craving for those amazing rolls from Choi’s,” she paused and considered a moment, “and maybe some cake from Segoshi’s, _oh_ , and a little--”

Lin waved a hand. “We’ll make some stops when we get back.”

“Thanks,” said Kya before she stood up. “Want me to drive us back?”

Lin scoffed. “Not if you want to make time enough for those stops.” Kya pouted and Lin waved a hand. “I’ll pay.”

Kya smiled. “You don’t have to.”

Lin shrugged. “But I will.”

Kya bit her bottom lip then released it slowly as she turned back to the water. Sometimes it was so hard to forget that these thoughtful gestures were only friendly. And she’d stopped successfully pretending that she wished they were something more. She sighed. At least there was cake. 

* * *

“You’ve done most of the heavy lifting, kid; now go in there and finish the job.”

Mako smiled. “Thanks, Chief.” He and Zhang Min left to interview the head of the Initiative group. 

Lin allowed herself a few moments to breathe and leaned against the wall behind the invisible part of the two way mirror in the interrogation room. It had been such a long week and she wanted nothing more than to finish her reports and go home.

Saikhan walked in which caused Lin to push off the wall. “How are they doing?”

_Better than you ever did in your first year_ , thought Lin. “They just got started.”

Zhang Min placed a stack of files on the table as Li rolled his eyes in exasperation. “You want to tell us why we found blue prints of all the structures on Air Temple Island in your apartment?”

Lin had always appreciated the even tone in Zhang Min’s voice. Too many young detectives spoke like those cheesy radio dramas she caught when tuning in for pro bending matches. Zhang Min knew how to sound both serious and not overly confident, though her arrest record would warrant some cockiness. 

Li shrugged. “I’m interested in Air Nation architecture.”

Mako tilted his head. “If it was only architecture, then why the detailed plans for how to restrain all four elements of bending?”

Li tsked. “You got me there.”

Zhang Min shook her head. “Listen, we can sit here all evening talking hypotheticals, or you can cough up your other associates and start planning how you’re going to spend the next sixty years in prison.”

“All evening, huh? I guess crime is down these days.”

Mako scoffed. “It’s over, Li.”

Li tilted his head. “What’s that?”

Mako lifted an eyebrow. “Your failed attempt at assassinating the Avatar.” 

Li smiled in the kind of smug way that always grated on Lin’s nerves. “Maybe we decided on a better target than the beloved Avatar.” He looked up at the two way mirror. “It was nice meeting your girlfriend, Chief.”

Lin felt the blood drain from her face. He couldn’t possibly be talking about...

Mako crossed his arms. “What are you talking about?”

Li laughed. “She put up a good fight, but the slow acting poison might be stronger.” He nodded toward the mirror. “I left her lying in your bed. It would be a shame if she never woke up.”

Suddenly flashes of Kya laying motionless in the kitchen, the bathroom, and the bedroom ran at full force in Lin’s head. Her arms shook as she lowered them. She had never left an interrogation in her life, but she knew she couldn’t stay if Kya was possibly in danger. “Saikhan, you have this?”

She didn’t wait for his answer and ran out of the room.

* * *

“Kya,” called Lin when she rushed in through the front door. The silence that greeted Lin increased her heart rate. She used her seismic sense to reach out and Kya’s slow heartbeat greeted her from her bedroom. She bent her armor off just in case she’d have to perform CPR.

_I left her lying there in your bed. It would be a shame if she never woke up._

The door to Lin’s bedroom was open. She walked in to see Kya laying across the bedspread, a towel long fallen from her open hand. Her chest moved slowly with her breathing and Lin hoped Li had been wrong.

She rushed forward and shook Kya’s shoulders. “Kya? Kya, please wake up.” _Don’t let him win_ , she thought. _You’re so strong._ _I need you, please._

It felt like an eternity before Kya slowly opened her eyes. Her slow smile was the most glorious thing Lin had ever seen.

“Lin?” she said softly, her voice scratchy from disuse and heavy with sleep. She looked around and sighed. “I must have fallen asleep putting your sheets away. I’m--“

Lin flung her arms around Kya. She turned her head away as moisture started to gather in the corner of her eyes. She breathed in Kya’s scent: lavender, vanilla and a touch of chamomile, most likely from tea she’d had before laundry. 

Kya hugged her lightly back. “Well, I’ve never had someone so grateful for laundry before.”

Lin took another deep breath and reveled in the fact that Kya was here and alive before she pulled back and gave her a once over. She cupped Kya’s cheek. “Have you been here all afternoon? Have you seen anyone unusual? Eaten anything new?”

Kya furrowed her brow. “No, I came straight home from the island.”

_Home_ , thought Lin. The tears she had tried so hard to stop started to fall freely from her eyes. Kya considered this home. Here with her. Lin tried to take a few deep breaths but found she couldn’t quell the building sob in her chest. Kya pulled her closer, one hand on her cheek and the other around her shoulders. _Home_ , thought Lin again. _I’m home_. 

Kya started to stroke her hair. “I’m right here.” Lin felt Kya’s body start to move under her. “Breathe with me, in and out. In and out.”

Lin nodded and tried to focus on the rhythm of Kya’s strokes and match her breathing, but every time she calmed down, she remembered what led her here and the anxiety bubbled up again. After a while, Kya shifted both of them so they lay facing one another. Her hand moved up and down Lin’s back and Lin couldn’t stop thinking of how she almost lost her. She finally managed a few deep breaths. 

“It’s too dangerous for you here,” she said once she found her voice. “I’m too dangerous.”

Kya knitted her eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”

Lin swallowed thickly. “That group we were after. We got them, but one of them tonight... He,” she paused and took a breath, “said he poisoned you and left you here for me to find.”

Kya’s eyes widened and she squeezed Lin’s side. “That’s awful.”

Lin nodded quickly. “I can’t let you be in that kind of danger. I’m not worth… especially when you’re not, and I--”

Kya started to stroke her arm. “First, deep breaths again.” Against the cascading waves of panic still present in her body, Lin did as Kya bade. “Now, are you really afraid of me being here?”

Lin shook her head. Why didn’t Kya see? “It doesn’t matter how I feel. You need to be safe.”

Kya took her time looking over Lin. It felt as if she were trying to drink her in. Her eyes were gentle as she gazed into Lin’s. “What if I feel safe with you?”

Lin’s eyes widened as she shifted on the pillow to get another look at Kya’s face. Surely she’d heard wrong. “What?”

Kya’s face was achingly tender as she gazed at Lin. “Do you want me to go? Would you feel better if I wasn’t here?”

“No,” answered Lin, surprised the confession fell so easy from her lips. 

Kya smiled softly. She reached up to cup Lin’s chin and Lin couldn’t help the way she leaned into the touch. Kya looked up as if debating something before her eyes found Lin’s again. “Who did this person think I was to you?”

Lin hesitated a moment then sighed. It was no use to keep it from Kya especially with the way she’d greeted her. “He thought we were lovers.”

Kya’s breath caught and she swallowed thickly. “Why do you think he thought--”

“They’ve been watching me. They do that sometimes, these groups, and they must have known you live here,” said Lin.

Kya’s face fell slightly. “I see.”

Lin tilted her head. “I’m sorry.”

Kya furrowed her brow. “Why?”

Lin took a deep breath. “I thought I was hiding it better.”

Kya peered at her imploringly. “Hiding what?”

_You almost lost her_ , her mind reminded her. _You owe her this much_. Lin swallowed thickly. “How I feel about you.”

Kya’s hand stilled on Lin’s cheek. She dropped it and leaned closer. “And how is that?”

“I,” started Lin as she took in all of the details of Kya’s face, a face she’d spent so long trying not to dream of, not to linger over, only to fail at every turn. “I like you here, more than I thought, and I want…” she trailed off. Words were never her forte, and as much as she wanted to explain everything, she found she couldn’t. 

“Lin?” whispered Kya. She brought her hands up to frame Lin’s face. She gazed at Lin as if she were some sort of wonder she was experiencing for the first time. 

“Hmm?” she whispered back. Lin found she couldn’t speak too loud for fear of what might come crashing down around her. She had already revealed too much. 

“Just show me. I don’t want to get it wrong—” 

Lin cut her off with an insistent press of lips.

It had been a long time. That much was evident with how her lips clumsily moved over Kya’s, their teeth knocking for a moment before they found a rhythm that worked. It was by no means perfect, but Lin had lived long enough to know that perfect in the pursuit of affection was a fool’s wish. 

It was, however, a comfortably solid and beautiful moment that grew as they went. Lin fumbled and Kya adapted. If she had ever allowed herself to indulge the possibility of such a moment in weeks prior, she couldn’t have wished for a better one.

Kya was here with her and miraculously safe. As if that weren’t wondrous enough, the way she firmly held Lin’s face told Lin that Kya might want her back just as much. One of Kya’s hands moved past Lin’s cheek, into her hair. The incredible feeling of Kya’s fingertips against her scalp drew an appreciative noise from Lin. 

Lin brought a hand up to cup Kya’s cheek and pulled her closer as she took Kya’s bottom lip between her teeth. Kya let out a grateful moan and Lin swung a leg over her hips. Before Lin settled fully, the phone rang out from the kitchen. Lin ignored it until Kya pulled back. Her lips were plump from Lin’s kisses and Lin let out a whine as she hovered close. 

“Might be important,” whispered Kya. Her voice was soft with a delicate husk. Lin had never wanted to ignore a phone call so badly. She sighed and rolled off her bed, stomping toward the phone. 

“Chief Beifong.” 

Any other day she might have been more patient with Mako’s questions and need for follow up. Instead, she just zoned out and tried to listen for any keywords that actually required immediate attention. Before she could protest Mako putting Zhang Min on the phone, the officer was already rattling away the information they’d obtained from the Initiative group leaders. 

Lin stifled a growl as she leaned on the counter and squeezed her eyes shut. She barked her permission to send out officers to round up the rest of the group when a pair of hands started to massage her shoulders. Fingers brushed the straps of her tank top as thumbs worked through the tension in her shoulder blades. She bit back a groan as Kya hit a particularly sensitive spot and asked for Saikhan to be put back on. 

She turned to face Kya and almost forgot to answer Saikhan’s hello. Kya’s hands dropped to her side as she smiled down at Lin. Her hair was disheveled and the usual strands that framed her face stuck out in a few different directions. Her smile was soft and there was that twinkle in her eyes that Lin adored so much. Her gaze was fixed on Lin’s lips.

_“Chief?”_

“What?” said Lin. She shook her head. “Oh yeah, can you handle it all from here? Only call if you’re all actually on fire.”

She hung up the phone and glanced up at Kya. “Are you...” she paused and had no idea how to finish her question. 

Kya leaned down and pressed her lips against Lin’s. “You know, I like to hear you barking orders.”

Lin rolled her eyes. “I find that hard to believe.”

Kya chuckled, a deep dark sound that sent a thrill through Lin’s veins. “There’s time to prove it.” Kya kissed Lin again then gently leaned against her forehead. “You sure they won’t call?”

Lin swallowed thickly. “If they know what’s good for them.”

Kya bit her lip then smiled. “They’re yours. I’m sure they do.”

Lin nodded. She wanted to ask Kya if they could get back to where they’d been heading if, of course, this was actually happening, and not another frustrating dream from which she would wake up from at any moment.

“Lin?”

Lin blinked slowly. “Yeah?” 

Kya brought a hand up to her right cheek, the side of her face anyone else who’d spent time with her in the past decade avoided, and stroked her thumb right above Lin’s scars. “Want to go back to bed?”

Lin gently wrapped her arms around Kya’s waist and lifted. When she looked up to make sure it was all right, Kya’s lips met hers as her legs encircled Lin’s hips. Lin moaned into the kiss as she walked them back to her bedroom. 

* * *

Lin slowly deposited Kya on the bed. The certainty of her earlier look melted away. 

“Kya,” she whispered, hovering close. Her voice held a reverence that made Kya grateful she wasn’t standing. 

Kya tilted her lips toward Lin’s face and just as softly replied, “Yes?”

Lin’s lips brushed Kya’s slightly before she sighed and closed her eyes. The anguish in them as she looked up again broke Kya’s heart in ways she couldn’t explain. “What if I’m not…” she trailed off and shook her head. She took a deep breath and began again, “I don’t want to disappoint--”

Kya brought her hands up to frame Lin’s face. Her thumbs traced Lin’s cheekbones as she interrupted. “You won’t, Lin. This is already so much more than you realize. We can take it slow, I--”

“What if I can’t?”

Kya furrowed her brow. “Can’t what?”

Lin swallowed thickly. “Take it slow. I’ve,” she paused and shook her head, “never been too good at patience or taking my time, it doesn’t... come naturally to me.”

Kya smiled gently. “I’m ok with fast too.”

Lin’s eyes held hers a moment before she whispered, “What about intense? Is that… too much? I’ve been told I sometimes--”

Kya shook her head. “Not too much for me.” She lightly brushed her lips over Lin’s, prompting an eager whine from Lin. “I’m here and I want this.” Kya kissed her soundly then whispered, “I want you.”

Lin gave her one last long look, then pulled her close and firmly brought their lips together. Before Kya had time to process it, Lin’s hands flew to her waist and began pulling up her skirts. She bunched them at Kya’s hips as she kissed her way from Kya’s jawline to her neck. Kya let out a small moan as Lin grazed her teeth over her pulse point before running her tongue along it. 

Lin hadn’t been kidding. When she went in, she went in completely. An anticipatory thrill ran through Kya at the thought that it was Lin’s attraction that currently inspired her fervor. Kya had had her fair share of lovers and was no stranger to being on the receiving end of desire, but there was so much about Lin that felt different. 

Lin growled softly as her fingertips grazed Kya’s thighs. Kya bit her lip and pulled Lin closer. The solid weight of her was both comforting and exhilarating in equal measure. Kya wondered if she might ever feel close enough. Lin’s groan vibrated against Kya’s skin and Kya knew there had to be no greater sensation --until Lin reached below Kya’s neck and Kya realized there was no way to rank the symphony of sense she felt. Lin nipped and sucked a trail from the base of Kya’s neck to the top of her dress and back again. One hand moved from Kya’s thigh to just below her breast. Lin paused and looked up. Kya nodded her permission. She arched her back to meet Lin’s hand while wrapping a leg around Lin’s waist, rolling her hips. 

Lin pulled away, her breath coming out in short pants. “Your dress. Can I--”

Kya’s arm fell away from Lin’s shoulder as she plunged it down through her dress and pulled at her layers. Lin wasted no time in helping and soon Kya lay back in only her underwear. The hungry look Lin gave Kya as she took her in set Kya’s skin ablaze. Of all the times Kya imagined this, it was nothing compared to the reality. 

Lin sighed happily as she leaned forward to join Kya. Kya lifted up a hand and Lin tilted her head in confusion. Kya nodded toward her. “Can you take off the tank at least? I want to--”

It was off before Kya could finish. Lin’s hands flew to her belt. “I can get the pants too.”

Kya chuckled softly. “I had no doubt.” Kya considered it a moment. “Maybe just your boots for now.” Lin lifted a curious eyebrow. Kya felt her cheeks warm and shrugged. “I like the way you look in those pants.”

Lin let out a small laugh and took off her boots. She quickly crawled up Kya’s body, her eyes set on Kya the entire time. Though Kya had a pretty good idea of what might happen next, she felt the strong urge to tell Lin to do whatever she pleased. Lin’s eyes dropped to Kya’s lips before she pressed against them, opening her mouth slightly, her tongue seeking entrance that Kya willingly gave. Kya ran her hand through Lin’s hair only to get caught in her pins. 

Kya pulled back. “Do you mind if I take it down?”

Lin breathed out slowly. “Not if I can keep kissing you.”

Kya smiled and tilted her body to give Lin better access to her neck. Lin’s kisses continued, her wandering hands almost getting the better of Kya’s concentration. Kya managed however and eventually leaned back to better enjoy herself. She delighted in the feel of Lin’s rough calluses without the barrier of clothes. She pulled at the base of Lin’s hair when Lin’s fingers grazed the bottom of her chest wrapping. Lin paused then pulled her fingers away, eliciting a small whine from Kya. Kya felt Lin smile against her skin. 

Lin tugged at the bottom of the wrap. “You mind?”

Kya shook her head and lifted her arms. Lin worked much quicker than she expected and soon Kya’s chest was free. Kya was relatively comfortable with her body but she noticed in the moment before Lin’s reaction that she was slightly worried about how Lin might find her. 

Lin lifted a shaky hand to Kya’s breast, a now familiar hungry look in her eyes, and Kya’s brief anxiety melted away. Lin just held a moment before she started to knead Kya’s breast. Kya let out a soft moan in affirmation and Lin kissed down to Kya’s other breast, her mouth and tongue working in tandem with her hand kneading its twin. 

“Spirits,” hissed Kya as Lin took a nipple between her teeth. Lin pulled harder and Kya tugged on her hair. Lin growled. 

There was something about feeling such a wild sound vibrate against her skin from a woman so usually in an intense state of control. Kya smiled in delight before Lin took the nipple back into her mouth and Kya moaned. When Lin switched to Kya’s other breast, Kya’s hands fell to the sheets and she just arched her back to chase Lin’s mouth. 

Kya never doubted that Lin would be skilled, but she was impressed by the other woman’s ability to read her every reaction and provide exactly what Kya wanted. Lin pulled away and started to kiss Kya’s stomach before her hand came to the edge of Kya’s underwear. 

“Wait,” said Kya. 

Lin stopped immediately and looked up at her. “Something wrong?”

Kya smiled. “Nothing wrong. I was just wondering if you had any lube?”

“Oh,” said Lin. She stomped a foot on the floor, a nightstand drawer sliding open. She pulled a small bottle out and uncapped it. Before she poured some out, Kya’s hand went to her wrist. Lin furrowed her brow and Kya winked. 

“One second.” Kya lifted her hips to pull off her underwear. Then she bent some lube onto herself and took the bottle from Lin, adding more to Lin’s left hand. Lin’s eyes widened and Kya shrugged. “Water based?”

Lin smirked. “Of course.” Her voice sounded as impressed as Kya had ever heard it. Lin leaned up over Kya and kissed her sternum before she looked up at her. “Ready?”

Kya lifted her hips and nodded. Lin’s fingers teased over the curls of her mound before her fingers grazed the outside of Kya’s entrance. Kya moaned as Lin parted her lips and circled her clit. She leaned up to capture Lin’s mouth in a kiss when Lin slipped in her middle finger and continued to circle Kya’s clit with her thumb.

Kya moaned as she adjusted. Her hips quickly started to chase Lin’s fingers. “Another,” she groaned. 

Lin added another finger and curled them inside as her thumb worked overtime on Kya’s clit. Kya’s kisses became more desperate as her breathing got shorter. She whined as she felt her orgasm build and spread through her. Every nerve felt like it was on end as she undulated her hips and pressed against Lin’s hand. 

“Kya?” whispered Lin. 

Kya pulled at Lin’s neck. “Almost there.”

Lin nodded and sped up her movements, pressing down with her hips to add pressure. Kya grasped her shoulders in encouragement. Her release built then melted through her and she released her grip on Lin’s shoulders. Her hips continued to chase Lin’s hand at every aftershock and she groaned in delighted relief as she reached the end. 

* * *

Lin laid on her side and stroked Kya’s brow as she came down from her aftershocks. She kissed her hairline and looked down to see Kya smiling up at her. “All right?”

“Like you don’t know how good you are.” 

_But I didn’t know if I’d be good enough for you_ , thought Lin. “It’s not something I discuss often.”

Kya laughed, her smile was bright and the crinkle of her laugh lines stirred something in Lin’s heart she thought she’d lost. “Maybe you should.” She took a deep breath. “Just give me a minute and I can do my best to reciprocate.” Lin squeezed her thighs involuntarily. Kya’s eyes trailed over them then she smiled back up at her. “Five minutes at most.”

Lin shrugged. “You don’t have to rush.”

Kya lifted a hand to Lin’s cheek. “Oh, I plan to take my time.”

Lin felt her face flood with heat as she averted her gaze from Kya’s. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t hoped for reciprocation, but it was one thing to dream about it and another to have Kya state her intent so plainly. 

Kya stroked her fingertips along Lin’s cheekbone. “You’re incredible, you know that?”

Lin scoffed. “That’s the orgasm talking.”

Kya shook her head and peered at her seriously. “No. I mean, the orgasm was fantastic, but that’s not everything.” Her eyes were soft, a glint of awe in them. “You’re so good, Lin. So good at protecting everyone and caring for people and you’re always here for me. I,” she paused and looked away before she caught Lin’s gaze again, “Thank you.”

Lin felt her chest flood with such warmth she thought she might explode. She wondered how it was possible that Kya saw her like this. How Kya always believed in her with such certainty when Lin was so used to being written off. 

She leaned forward and kissed Kya, pouring whatever emotion she could into her lips because she was sure she’d never find the words to respond to such a declaration. Kya pressed up into her before she pulled back slightly. 

“What would you like?”

Lin furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”

Kya smiled. “How ‘bout this: I’ll try a few things, and you let me know if I’m on the right track or not?” 

Lin nodded. Kya leaned up to kiss her again, her hands reaching up to cup Lin’s face before one strayed to her chest. Lin pressed down into Kya’s hand as Kya took her bottom lip between her teeth. Lin groaned at the action and felt Kya smile against her lips. Kya continued in the same vein for some time before she leaned back. 

“That’s good then?” 

Lin nodded and bent down to kiss Kya again. Kya allowed one kiss before she moved to kiss Lin’s jawline. Lin whimpered in a way she would have felt shame about if not for Kya’s smile along her skin. There was nothing like physically feeling Kya’s joy and amusement. It made Lin feel secure in a way she hadn’t known she needed.

Kya continued to Lin’s neck, lightly running her teeth over Lin’s pulse point before dragging her tongue down to Lin’s collarbone. Lin shook with pleasure and wondered if she’d be able to stay up. It was as if Kya sensed her distress when she sat up slightly and pulled Lin’s right arm to loop around her waist, causing Lin to sit and accommodate. Then she gently took Lin’s left hand in her own and swirled her tongue around each finger before pulling them into her mouth. 

Lin whimpered again and Kya smiled. “I think I like the taste of myself on your fingers.”

Lin just nodded as Kya repeated the attention to her hand before lightly laying it on her shoulder, pulling Lin closer. Lin leaned forward and kissed her, feeling as if she might come undone already. How was it possible that Kya always knew how to throw her off in ways Lin actually enjoyed? Kya ran a hand down Lin’s front, kneading her breast then lightly trailing her fingers over Lin’s stomach. 

Kya’s fingers grazed the waistband of Lin’s pants. “It’s time for these to go, don’t you think?”

Lin almost leapt off the bed as she pulled both her pants and underwear off. Kya chuckled and Lin slumped slightly. Perhaps she should try to control her eagerness. Kya stood, the sheets from the bed slipping off before she freed herself completely. She took both of Lin’s hands in hers and kissed them. 

“Trust me?”

Lin knitted her eyebrows but nodded all the same. Kya kissed her and backed her up to the edge of the bed before she gently pushed down on Lin’s shoulders. Lin sat and pulled Kya into another kiss which Kya cut short. 

Kya kept Lin’s gaze as she pulled a pillow from the bed and kneeled in front of Lin. She held up her hand and scraped her nails lightly over Lin’s thigh. “I was thinking since I didn’t have time to prep, I’d use my mouth if you’re up for it?”

Lin swallowed thickly and opened her legs. Kya kissed her thigh and nodded toward the night stand. Lin shook her head. “I… won’t need it this time.”

Kya quirked an eyebrow. “Are you sure? I can use my bending trick and everything.”

Lin felt her cheeks warm at the memory of Kya bending the lube and looked forward to repeating the experience eventually. “Yeah, I almost,” she cleared her throat, “from feeling you earlier, so I don’t think I’ll need it this time.”

Kya looked slightly stunned. “Just from--”

“Yeah,” replied Lin. Her heart hammered in her chest at the admission, but from the growing desire in Kya’s eyes, she could tell it wasn’t a bad thing. 

Kya nodded and ran her nails along the outside of Lin’s thighs before circling them to the inside. Lin groaned in appreciation, even more assured in what she confessed to Kya. In fact, she’d be surprised if she didn’t come before Kya’s mouth reached her clit. 

Thankfully, she didn’t, and got to feel the full pleasure of Kya’s fingers parting her lips before her tongue teased at Lin’s entrance. Lin’s hand flew to Kya’s hair as Kya’s tongue completed a series of long strokes before circling Lin’s clit. Lin bucked against her and let out a series of desperate moans before she felt her orgasm threaten to burst from her. 

“Close,” she warned Kya. 

Kya pulled her closer and sped up, sending Lin over the edge in no time. Kya moved to lick her through her aftershocks when Lin gently pulled her up. 

“C-can’t.”

Kya nodded and moved into Lin’s bathroom before she came back out smelling like Lin’s mouthwash. Lin laid down and Kya grabbed the pillow from the floor before she crawled into bed next to her. Kya kissed her cheek before she moved to rest her head on Lin’s chest. 

Lin turned off the light and pulled the blankets up before she kissed Kya’s temple and held her close. 

* * *

Streams of yellow light filtered in the next morning through the blinds in Lin’s bedroom. She opened her eyes to see the light dance across Kya’s silver hair and arms, making them shimmer and glow. Lin pulled Kya’s hair back from her face and kissed her forehead. She needed to get up. 

Lin slowly extracted herself from Kya’s arms, surprised when Kya barely even stirred. Lin slipped into the bathroom and moved as quietly as possible through her room. She didn’t want to go into the station, but she knew she’d just be creating more work for herself if she put it off. She managed to put on her work boots before there was movement behind her and a pair of arms around her shoulders. 

“Come back.”

Lin turned around and almost undid the work of the last half hour. Kya’s smile was gorgeous in the morning light and the hooded look in her eyes brought a wave of memory from the night before that shot straight to Lin’s core. 

Lin shook her head slowly. “I have to go to work.”

Kya rolled her eyes. “You’re the chief. You don’t _have_ to do anything.”

Lin chuckled and stood. “And you have a session with Korra.”

Kya crawled to the edge of the bed in an impressive imitation of a cat. “But that’s hours away.”

Lin quirked an eyebrow at the clock. “Two hours away.”

Kya pulled at her hand. “At least make it a late morning.”

Lin let herself be led back down to the bed and leaned down to trail kisses from Kya’s collarbone to her neck, her jawline, and finally her lips. Kya let out a soft moan before Lin pulled back. 

“I can’t limit it to the morning.”

Kya’s mouth widened into a cheshire grin. “And that’s bad because…?”

“Because we both have things to do. I’ll make it up to you later.” Lin paused. “That is, if you want to, we didn’t really--”

Kya gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. “I told you I wanted you and I still do. I want to stay and work in the hospital and bring you lunch at the station. I’ll even disappear to the island if I get on your nerves, but I’m staying because I want to be with you, Lin.”

Lin kissed her fully then. Her clock chiming in the distance was the only thing that made her pull away though Kya’s whine almost brought her back. “Later.”

“Promise?”

Lin chuckled and let herself indulge in one last kiss before she squeezed Kya’s side. “Yes.”

* * *

“Good job,” said Kya as she gently let Korra’s hands go and sat across from her on the yoga mat. 

“I finally figured out what I want. I want to go home,” said Korra. She sounded more sure than Kya had heard in two months. 

Korra hadn’t asked Kya to come too, and she had her parents, but something in Kya wouldn’t let her stay without seeing Korra safely back to the South Pole. 

“Then that’s what we’ll do. You want me to come and tell your parents when they arrive tomorrow?”

“They already know.”

_And you couldn’t say so sooner_ , thought Kya. She smiled and nodded. “Good then.”

“Kya,” said Korra in such a small voice that she was reminded of the small toddler who was convinced she lost Naga one night, only to realize she’d mistaken the sweet creature for a snow mound. 

“Yes, sweetie?” replied Kya. She reached forward and squeezed her shoulder, grateful that the touch didn’t make Korra flinch.

“Will you come too? You don’t have to stay when we get there. I just need a break from the way my parents are going to look at me and I can’t ask Asami to come. She’ll offer, but I know what Future Industries means to her.”

Kya nodded. “Of course I’ll come, honey.”

* * *

Kya paced in the living room. She’d gone through a hundred different openers for her conversation, but she knew that none of them felt right. Nothing about this felt right. Well, that wasn’t completely true. Nothing about the _timing_ felt right. Hadn’t she just promised Lin she was serious? Hadn’t she just told her this morning she’d let Sonali know that she wanted the job?

The lock clicked open and Lin walked in, bending off her armor and smiling before she stilled. 

“What’s wrong?”

Kya bit her lip. “Maybe you should sit.”

Lin ran up to her and gently grabbed her arms. “Is it Korra?” Kya shook her head. “The kids? Katara? Bumi? Tenzin? What is it?”

Kya shook her head. “No, no, please; just sit.”

Lin stepped back. “Nothing good ever comes from a heartbeat like that and the instruction to sit.”

Kya sighed. Damn that seismic sense. “I had my session with Korra.” Lin nodded and folded her arms. Kya nodded in return. “And you know her parents come tomorrow.”

“I thought a decision hadn’t been reached yet.”

“Neither did I until I talked to Korra.”

Lin stared at her, a steely gaze that Kya had never had the misfortune of receiving. “You’re going back.”

Kya hoped Lin would register the apology in her gaze as she explained. “She asked me to. She’d already written her parents. They’re only staying the couple of hours it will take to tell Tenzin.”

Lin sighed. “So this morning was just a convenient lie?”

“How can you say that?”

“How can you leave like this?"

Kya took a step toward Lin only to have Lin step back. “I don’t want to go.”

“Then don’t.”

Kya tucked her hair behind her ear. “You know I have to.”

Lin furrowed her brow. “You have to? Why do you have to? You don’t have to do anything, Kya. That’s the point. There’s no responsibility to anyone but yourself.”

Kya scoffed. “Are you kidding? I have a duty to the Avatar just as much as you or Tenzin. And she asked me to go with her. She even said she doesn’t--”

“Since when is a sense of duty enough for you?”

Kya’s eyes widened. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Lin tilted her head. “You ran away to escape a duty to the Avatar. What changed? We may be older and you may have stayed in the South Pole for a while, but I don’t think--”

“Don’t you dare,” started Kya. “Don’t you dare stand there and tell me I know nothing about what a duty to the Avatar is. I left because I had my father’s blessing. I had his understanding. I stayed for twenty years in the South Pole because while everyone was so busy worrying about the legacy of the Avatar, my mother lost the love of her life, and no one gave a shit about what that did to her. I stayed because all of the people worried about a _‘duty to the Avatar’_ asked my still-grieving mother to train a tiny ball of chaos who now held a connection to my father’s spirit. I stayed because just a few years later, the man who taught me to sail and could always make me laugh died at the hands of the same man I’ve now fought twice in the last six months.”

Lin blinked slowly, her arms falling from her middle, but her eyes still hard. “Then why give in to the duty that took so much from you?”

It was a good question, but one Kya didn’t feel she had the right to ask herself. It felt too selfish, and if there was one thing she tried so hard not to be, it was selfish. 

“I have to,” she said quietly. Though as she said it, it felt more hollow than it ever had. 

Lin looked at her a moment before she sighed and shook her head. “Look, if you didn’t want me, or us, you could have just--”

Kya shook her head. Tears were threatening to fall now. “Lin, I want you. I’m only saying I need to be there for Korra for a little while. I thought you’d understand.”

Lin huffed and turned around. “I understand enough to know this was too foolish to hope for.”

“Foolish?” A pang ran through Kya’s chest. The last thing she wanted was Lin to beat herself up or think this made anything less real. “It wasn’t foolish, I’m telling you I need to--”

“And I need to be here.” She crossed her arms again. “You knew that. You knew that when you said this could work and when you--”

“Nothing about this means we can’t work. This is one trip.”

Lin sighed and turned back. “And what happens when it takes longer? You saw how things were here for Korra. Maybe a change of location doesn’t yield better results. Will you stay indefinitely?”

Kya sighed. There would be no getting around this tonight and she didn’t have the time to argue. Her heart ached as Lin glared at her. This morning she’d been so open and willing, but tonight? It was as if the last two months had suddenly been erased. She knew if Lin didn’t realize she was telling the truth now, she might never. 

That broke her heart more than anything else. 

Her cheeks were wet as she tried just one more time. “I care about you. About what we have. I will come back. This isn’t me leaving you. I would never do--”

Lin scoffed. “You should sleep in the other room tonight.”

Kya took a deep breath and nodded. “If that’s what you want.” _Please say no_ , she thought. _Please_.

Lin just stomped into her room and closed the door. Kya dropped to the sofa and sobbed. 

* * *

Lin was gone by the time Kya woke up the next day. Kya had known she probably would be, but it still hurt. She half expected a note in the kitchen asking to return her key to the station or Tenzin, but there was nothing. Kya thought about leaving a note, but knew if her pleas the evening before weren’t enough, then repeating them wouldn’t be either. 

Kya packed faster than she ever had. It was amazing how much she’d fit into Lin’s place in just two months. The only thing she left was the pair of silver earrings she’d worn the night of their dinner with Opal and Bolin. She’d make a note to tell Opal they were there, as she was sure Opal had been longing to borrow them. Not to mention, she’d worn them to impress Lin, and there was no use in trying that now. 

She made sure the apartment was spotless, no matter how much she wanted to leave a mess to irritate Lin. It wasn’t half as fun if she’d never hear Lin chide her in a fond tone. She felt tears threaten to pool in her eyes as she locked the door and took a deep breath. She wouldn’t cry until she was on the boat. She could manage that much. 

There was the usual send off committee when she reached the boat. Meelo and Ikki were riding airballs around Katara, while Bumi and Jinora were huddled together talking. Asami stood next to Korra, her green eyes shining while Tonraq shook her hand. Kya was glad to see Korra hug Asami back when she bent down. 

“Kya,” greeted a soft voice next to her. 

Kya took a deep breath and turned, trying not to ignore how much Opal resembled her aunt. “Hey, sweetie.”

Opal leaned forward and hugged her. “I’ll miss you,” she said simply. 

Kya kissed the top of her head. “You’ll just have to come see me sometime.”

Opal’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Kya smiled softly. “Of course.” She gave Opal’s shoulder a squeeze. “My silver earrings are at your aunt’s waiting for you. Just,” she took a deep breath, “don’t mention that to her.”

Opal knitted her eyebrows but nodded when Kya’s face pleaded with her not to ask any questions. “I’ll keep them safe.”

“Just keep them.”

Opal squealed and gave her another hug.

“Hey, no stealing Aunt Kya!”

Opal smiled and released Kya to the enveloping arms of Ikki and Meelo. Kya smiled at them and let their exuberance temporarily wash over her heartache. They were followed by a more forlorn Jinora. Kya tilted her head at her and pulled her in. There were unmistakable sniffles against her midsection. Kya gave her a tight squeeze before she kissed her head and pulled back. 

She bent to give Jinora’s cheek a kiss. “You’ll see me soon enough, sweetheart.” Kya cupped her cheek. “If you’re not globe trotting too much by then.”

Jinora smiled and squeezed her aunt’s hand before she stepped away for Bumi.

“Come here,” he bellowed. Kya laughed and stepped forward. 

Bumi pulled her in and squeezed tight. It was almost enough for Kya to start crying. He started to stroke her back and kissed her head before he whispered something. 

Kya knitted her eyebrows and looked up. “What?”

Bumi winked and cupped her cheek. “You can live for yourself, Ky.”

Kya tilted her head. “Huh?”

Bumi took a step back and made sure no one was paying attention to them. “You’re going to lie to me and tell me you’d rather get on this boat and heal the Avatar over staying with a certain police chief?”

Kya blinked against the tears in her eyes. “She made it clear she doesn’t want--”

“Then she’s a much bigger fool than I ever thought. Still, consider that job at the hospital I know you’d love. You need to help me torture Tenzin into our twilight years. Yeah?”

Kya laughed and wiped at her eyes. “I’ll think about it.”

Bumi pulled her in for another hug. “You’re worth it, Ky.” 

Kya squeezed him before she leaned up and kissed his cheek. “I love you.” 

Bumi sniffled and shook his head as he took a step back. “I’ll see you soon.”

Asami approached her as Korra and her parents turned to get in line. “I’ll miss you.”

Kya chuckled. “There seems to be a lot of that going on.” She gave Asami a hug. “I’ll write to you. Hmm?”

Asami nodded and looked back at Korra. “Do you think this will work?”

Kya reached for her hand and squeezed. “I think something will. She’ll find herself again and maybe she’ll be ready then.”

Asami furrowed her brow. “Ready?”

Kya gave her another hug. “Take care of yourself, honey. Promise?”

Asami nodded. Kya smiled at her and felt her tears threaten to resurface. She took a deep breath. She just had to get on that boat. If she was moving, she didn’t have to think and maybe, just maybe, she might forget. 

* * *

Lin all but ran out of her apartment that morning. If she could get away, then she could focus on something else. Work had always been a stable getaway and that’s what Lin needed: stability. The faster she got to the station, the faster she could forget what a fool she’d let herself turn into. 

There were no less than ten things to attend to when she got in and she felt relieved to slip into the familiarity. She managed not to think for two hours before Mako came into her office. 

“Chief, I realized this was yours and not mine this morning. Apologies.”

Lin took the familiar red bag. “It’s fine. I’m sure it was empty.”

Mako’s skin went red. “No, I’m sorry. I stopped reading as soon as I realized.”

Lin tilted her head as she waved Mako out of her office and sat down. She opened the bag to find a packet of cookies from Segoshi’s. _For my favorite chief_ read the note attached. Lin’s heart ached. The clock on her desk chimed. The next boat left in 45 minutes. 

She shook her head. It would be silly to try. Kya was probably taking a later boat. Not to mention, what would she even say? Kya was the one who decided to leave. She’d lied and made Lin believe she might stay for her. 

_I will come back. This isn’t me leaving you._

Lin picked up the note and sighed. There was no way Kya would come back. Korra wasn’t going to get well any time soon, and maybe Kya would decide she’d rather stay in the South Pole or venture off to who knew where. Not to mention, Lin felt like after last night, she’d never want to see herself again either. 

Her phone rang. 

“Chief Beifong.”

“Why is she leaving?”

Lin furrowed her brow. “Opal?”

“I can tell she doesn’t want to go. She left me earrings in your apartment and she looks like she’s going to cry. I thought she was going to stay.”

Lin sighed. “Opal, Kya is a grown woman. She is going because she wants--”

“To help. She always wants to help, but Aunt Lin, what if she doesn’t know she can stay?”

“She has a duty to Korra,” started Lin. Then she remembered _I thought you’d understand_. “She--”

“The boat leaves from the western port in forty minutes.”

The line went dead. Lin scoffed and shook her head before she jumped up. If she’d been a fool, she might as well ride out her foolishness for another forty minutes. She was surprised when she made such good time without just using her cables to swing across town. 

Lin stopped at a tree near the port and took a few deep breaths. 

“Chief, your timing needs so much work.”

Lin sighed. Maybe she hadn’t made good time after all. She shook her head. Of course she was too late. She turned to leave when Bumi grabbed her arm. He looked more serious than she’d ever seen him. 

“I may have only been a bender a few months, but if you fuck this up, I will come for you, Beifong.” He turned her toward the boat. “Now run before you miss it.” He gave her a small push. 

Lin almost turned around to scold him but she could see Kya’s silhouette at the head of the crowd about to board and she couldn’t risk the time. Just as Katara, Korra and her parents got on, Lin called out. 

“Kya!”

She watched Kya stop and feared that she wouldn’t even turn around to hear Lin out. It wasn’t as if she didn’t deserve it, if that was what Kya decided to do, but Lin prayed harder than she had in her entire life that Kya’s good nature would extend to this moment. 

Kya turned. Her face was a mix of confusion and what Lin thoroughly wanted to believe was hope. “Did I forget something? I’m sure you could have dropped it off with Tenzin at the temple.”

Lin shook her head as she tried to catch her breath and stood a couple of feet away. “No, I,” she paused and took a deep breath, “I forgot something.”

Kya tilted her head. “What was that?”

Lin opened and closed her mouth a few times. Maybe she should have practiced a speech on the way or asked Bumi for a template. She sighed. “I… I wanted to say, well, I…”

Kya’s smile was gentle, but her eyes held a pain that cut at Lin’s heart. A pain Lin knew she’d put there. “Take care of yourself, Lin.” She turned to board the boat and Lin felt the urgency of the moment win out over her usual inability to form words. 

“Wait!”

Lin gently turned her around. “I’m still so bad at this and I’m… I’m sorry. I was upset. I didn’t let you explain. I didn’t even consider.” She shook her head and ran her hand down Kya’s arm to squeeze her hand. “I know why you have to go. And… and I thought even though you said it wasn’t that it meant leaving me, that it was. I should have seen you in so much pain and reached out instead of lashing out like I always do. I should have known better. After these past couple of months, I should and I’m an idiot but I--”

“Last call!”

Kya looked toward the boat then back at Lin. She took so long to speak that Lin thought for sure she’d miss the boat. “You’re not an idiot and this isn’t me leaving you, but I have to go.”

Lin nodded slowly and stepped back. “I’m sorry I fucked it all up.”

Kya surprised her and reached up to cup her cheek. “You didn’t.” She paused and stroked her cheek. “Don’t get me wrong, it hurts, but maybe it’s not irreparable. I’ll be back. That is, if you’re still interested in—”

“Yes.”

The boat let out a hiss. Kya gave her an apologetic look before she kissed Lin’s cheek and backed away. She winked. “Try not to miss me too much.”

Though Kya’s words and gesture eased some of her fears, Lin still worried at how long it would be until they saw one another again. 


	5. The Welcome I Receive With Every Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here we are! I want to thank everyone who has been incredibly encouraging about this story. I really hope you enjoy this ending. Alafair, you're an amazing beta as always. Toad, I hope you cry happy tears. Please leave a comment if you have a minute. I appreciate all of you!!

> It seems that all my bridges have been burned  
> But you say 'That's exactly how this grace thing works'  
> It's not the long walk home that will change this heart  
> But **the welcome I receive with every start**

Roll Away Your Stone~Mumford and Sons

Toph didn’t do apologies. It was one of the many things that caused Lin frustration in her youth. She remembered asking Toph what “sorry” meant the first time she heard the word at three years old, on an outing with Aang and Katara. 

_Toph shrugged in a way Lin would come to understand as deflection. “It’s just a word, Lin. Sometimes people feel guilty for things. Let’s go practice. Your timing needs work.”_

Lin had wanted to ask about guilt, too, but Toph wasn’t much for talking. The next time Lin encountered the idea of an apology, she was on Air Temple Island playing with Tenzin and Katara in one of the gardens while Bumi had been off visiting Sokka. Kya was sitting in a patch of grass trying and failing to quickly bend her tears away. Before Katara could run to her, Aang appeared next to her. 

“ _What is it?”_

_Kya looked up, her eyes puffy from crying and a devastated look on her face. “I wanted to show you my water display, Papa, but you ran away.”_

_Aang tilted his head in sympathy. “I was attending to a council matter.”_

_Kya stood then and crossed her arms, more fury in an eight year old than anyone Lin had seen yet. “You always have the council or the temples or Tenzin. I just wanted this one thing, Papa.”_

_Aang sighed and knelt in front of her, gently reaching for her small hands. “I’m sorry, Kya. It’s hard to be in all the places I want to be.” Kya deflated slightly. “Will you show me now?”_

_Kya beamed and pulled him toward a fountain._

Lin had asked Katara then about apologies and received a much more thorough response. 

_“Sometimes we hurt other people. It’s important to acknowledge that hurt and do better next time.”_

Toph still didn’t do them, as far as Lin could see anyway, but Lin still learned their importance. She remembered how she felt on the rare occasion her hurt was acknowledged and someone did better. Still, she found it difficult to apologize herself.

Which was why the wastebasket in her office was full of half-started letters to Kya in the South Pole. Kya had been there a month, and apart from a short letter letting Lin know she had arrived safely with Korra in tow, Lin hadn’t heard from her. 

A knock sounded low on her door. “Go away,” she growled. 

The door opened anyway and Opal appeared with two bags. “It’s Wednesday,” she said by way of explanation. 

Lin’s face softened. “Sorry, I forgot.” At least that apology was easy to make. 

Opal smiled. “It’s ok. I hope you’re not too busy?”

Lin shook her head. There was indeed a long list of things she had to do, but a break with Opal would be a welcome reprieve. “No, what did you bring?”

Opal opened the containers. “Soup and vegetable wraps. It was all I could make before lunch had to be made for everyone else.”

Lin pushed her papers away and grabbed a spoon. Her stomach growled and she realized she hadn’t eaten breakfast. Anything was bound to look good. 

“This is fine. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” replied Opal as she sat across from Lin. 

“How are the new airbenders?”

Opal took a sip of juice. “Doing well. I think the pamphlets Jinora made are helping with adjustments. She’s off again soon. There are a couple of airbenders at the South Pole and she wants to visit Katara and Kya.”

Lin hated how her heart clenched at the mention of Kya’s name. “That’s good.”

Opal eyed her aunt. “I might go with her.”

Lin inhaled a vegetable wrap. “Oh?” 

Opal shrugged. “Let me know if you’d like me to tell her anything.”

Lin sighed. “You need to work on your subtlety."

Opal smiled. “Wasn’t trying.” She nodded toward the bullpen beyond Lin’s door. “Why is everyone rushing around so much out there?”

Relief flooded Lin at the change of topic. She explained a few different cases that had everyone scrambling for clues and upcoming court cases they needed to prepare testimony for. The usual half hour that Lin could barely spare flew by. 

Opal came around Lin’s desk to give her a hug. “At least try a letter.”

Lin scoffed and returned the hug. “I have to get back to work.”

* * *

Kya leaned against the edge of her mother’s sofa. Katara was in a session with Korra and Kya had grown restless in her own hut. A rap on the door echoed in the still silence and Kya got up to check. 

Tonraq walked in. He smiled hopefully. “How is she doing?”

Kya smiled back. “They’re still finishing up.”

He nodded and pulled a thick envelope from his pocket. “This came for you and I hope you don’t mind my bringing it.”

Kya took it and froze at the return address. She shook her head and looked back at Tonraq. “Thank you.” She gestured toward the living room. “Take a seat. I’m going to get some air.” 

When Kya was a little girl, she’d run as fast as she could, wondering if the way the air swirled around her was what it was like when her father airbent. When she was a teenager, it was a way to calm down after some big disagreement or when her emotions felt too large to contain within four walls. In adulthood, she did it to center herself before she dealt with a difficult task. It followed, then, that as soon as she was through her mother’s door, she ran the couple of miles to her own hut.. 

She lit the lights in the living room, casting a warm glow over all her collections from her various travels: a hodgepodge of statues, books, pillows, and fabrics. She hovered in her kitchen, settling her nerves as best she could with warming her kettle. After it whistled and she felt warmth run from her palms to her arms then down through her toes, she placed her cup and saucer on her coffee table. She plopped on her sofa, took a breath, and opened the envelope. 

_Kya,_

_I’m no good at this. I spent two days thinking of what to say and I’m still at a loss, so I’ve included a few different drafts. I hope, somewhere among all of them, you might piece together and understand how sorry I am for the way things were when you left. I am glad to hear everyone’s safe. I hope being in a familiar and comfortable place will help Korra._

_I know that it’s impossible to take back the way I treated you. Please know I wish I could. I wish I’d listened. It hurt you that I didn’t. I can only imagine what it took to explain yourself and try to get me to understand, only for me to lose my temper. I don’t want to hurt you, Kya._

_I know that I’m difficult. There are a hundred reasons to give for why I am the way I am, but none of them justify the way I treated you. You were nothing but kind and open hearted here. I appreciate that._

_I’ll understand if at any point you change your mind about coming back, or about ever seeing me again. I promise you, though, that I am trying to do better, and I’ll keep trying, because I care about you. We shared the best months I’ve known in a long time. If nothing else, I thank you for that._

_Anyway, I hope you’re well, and I apologize for not being able to articulate all I want to say better._

_Sincerely,_

_Lin._

Kya wiped the tears from her eyes as she thumbed through different variations of the same letter. She shook her head. _Damn, Lin_ , she thought.

Kya had spent a lot of time (when she wasn’t helping Korra) remembering every moment with Lin. She traced every sign that their attraction had been mutual and cursed her timing at every turn. She sighed and carried the letters to her bedroom. She tucked them under her journal and took out some paper to reply. 

_Lin,_

She stopped. What was there to say? Kya had cycled through so many different scenarios since she left Republic City. There was the option never to see Lin again, and Lin had been right to mention it--Kya had definitely considered it, even with her parting promise to return. It quickly became clear to her, though, that cutting Lin from her life wasn’t an option she truly wanted to consider. There was no mistaking the familiar stirrings in her heart. 

She had most certainly fallen in love with Lin Beifong. 

That love, however, did not change her current circumstance. Korra still had a long way to go and was very vocal about how much she appreciated Kya’s presence. She let out a heavy sigh. Weren’t things supposed to become clearer as one got older? Weren’t time and wisdom supposed to hold more answers? 

Not for the first time in the last twenty years, Kya wished her dad were there. While she was more likely to seek counsel from Katara, Aang had always had a better understanding of how much Kya was guided by the whims of her heart. 

There was a sound outside her hut and she stood up to greet whomever it was. In a flash, a pair of arms under a red cloak flew around her waist. 

Kya smiled at the familiar figure and ran her hand through the short hair growing back in. “Jinora.”

Jinora smiled up at her. “Hi, Aunt Kya.”

“What are you doing here?”

Jinora bounced on her feet. “We’re here to bring back the airbenders. I wrote to you a couple weeks ago.”

Kya nodded. She couldn’t believe she’d forgotten. “Oh, of course. Is Opal with you?”

Kya tried to ignore the ache in her heart that already anticipated what seeing familiar green eyes would do to her. 

Jinora nodded. “She’s meeting with the families and then we’ll have dinner in Gran Gran’s hut. She sent me to come get you.”

Kya smiled. “Let me grab my cloak.” She pulled on the extra layer and flung a warmer hat at her niece. 

Jinora smiled and pulled it over her head. “I always forget how cold it is down here.”

Kya chuckled. “So do I sometimes.”

They held hands as they walked and Kya was flooded with memories of her first walks with her niece. Jinora had grown so much, most especially in the last couple of years, and Kya couldn’t be prouder. She ran a thumb over Jinora’s hand tattoo and felt the familiar ache of missing Aang, but warmth at the thought of how proud he’d be of such a granddaughter. 

“How does it feel to be a master?”

Jinora smiled. “Weird, but I like it. I get nervous when I don’t have the answers sometimes, when the new benders ask me questions.”

Kya nodded. “That makes sense.”

Jinora swung their arms. “But Dad listens to me more often now, and I’ve even sat in and talked at council meetings.”

Kya smiled. “Your Dad should just give you his seat.”

Jinora giggled. “Lin said the same thing last time.”

Kya stopped suddenly at the pang in her heart. 

“Aunt Kya?”

Kya smiled. “Sorry, sweetie, just got a little winded.”

Jinora nodded and squeezed her hand. “I can slow down.”

Kya winked. “No, how about we race?”

Jinora’s face lit up in such a way that it was hard to believe such a young spirit carried the weight of rebuilding a nation on her shoulders. “Can we use bending?”

Kya chuckled. “I’ll have to, to have any chance of winning.” She gently dropped Jinora’s hand and spread her own. “Ready... Set... _Go_!”

The wind was a comfort and Jinora’s glee was contagious. Kya would figure out things with Lin later. For now, she could be free. 

* * *

One month quickly turned into two and Lin’s heart fell when Kya didn’t accompany Jinora and Opal back from the South Pole. She had received a couple of letters, though, and they’d lent her hope if nothing else. 

Lin sighed as she noticed the clock. She’d pulled three overnight shifts and her body was insisting she might collapse if she attempted another. She gathered some paperwork and stuffed it into a bag, waving to Mako as she exited to head to the apartment whose doorstep she’d not darkened in three days. 

She almost fell asleep waiting at Choi’s for takeout, but she made it through her front door. She almost dropped her things when she felt another heartbeat in her home: an incredibly familiar one, which should have been in the South Pole. She shook her head and figured her body was reacting to daydreams and she just needed some sleep to reset. 

Except. 

As soon as she walked into her kitchen, there was an unmistakable figure in a blue dress making tea. She turned at the sound of Lin dropping her files and food on the table. 

Kya wore an apologetic look. “Ok, so I know how this looks, but I got in much, _much_ later than I thought, and there wasn’t another ferry to the island, and I didn’t have enough strength to water--”

Lin didn’t know what possessed her to fly at Kya, but she did. Her arms encircled the other woman’s waist and she squeezed so hard that her face ended up pressed into Kya’s neck. Kya wrapped her arms tentatively around Lin’s shoulders. 

Lin wasn’t sure how long they held each other like that, but eventually Kya whispered something and gently pulled back. 

“What?”

Kya smiled and nodded toward Lin’s food. “I think your food is getting cold.”

Lin let go and stepped back, immediately feeling emptier without Kya in her arms. “Are you hungry?”

Kya shook her head. “I ate on the boat, but I can sit with you if you don't mind.”

Lin nodded and grabbed a few utensils before she sat down. Her soup had run a little cold, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She tilted her head. “How long are you here?”

Kya started to run her finger along the rim of her cup. “Well, I have a meeting at the hospital in two days. They still want to offer me a job.”

Lin felt hope spring in her chest. “Oh?”

Kya nodded slowly. “Korra is progressing, but very slowly. She has her parents and my mother though. I do have to go back in about three months to check on Mom. I worry if she goes too long, but it’ll be a short visit.”

Lin took a sip of water to steady herself. Kya was here and she was staying. Lin pulled her hands into her lap. “You’ll be living on the island then?”

Kya looked at her for a long moment. “That’s one option; the first one I was going to go with, anyway.”

Lin carefully looked over at her. “What other options were you considering?”

Kya’s eyes were gentle as she considered her. “When was the last time you were home?”

Lin shrugged and felt her exhaustion settle in for the first time since she’d set eyes on Kya. “Three days. I worked a few overnights.”

Kya nodded. “Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll clean up and leave my key. I can stay at a hotel for the--”

“Stay here.”

Kya’s eyes widened. “Lin, I don’t think--”

Lin gestured toward the spare room. “There, I mean. It’s late and you’re already here. There’s no point in wasting money.”

Kya hesitated. “I don’t want to put you out.”

Lin shook her head. “You’re not. I’m, well, I’m… just. Stay.”

Kya nodded. “When do you have to go in tomorrow?”

“I’m working from here, barring any emergencies.”

Kya bit her lip and Lin tried and failed not to stare as she released it slowly. “Could we talk when you get up? I think we should—”

“Of course.” Lin wasn’t looking forward to it, and she wasn’t completely sure what she’d say, but she felt as if she couldn’t let Kya leave now that she was here. 

Kya gestured toward Lin’s room. “Off you go.”

Lin nodded and moved toward her bedroom. That night all she dreamt of was Kya. 

* * *

Kya woke early the next morning and phoned her brothers to let them know she was in town but had stayed the night in the city. She had rolled her eyes at Bumi calling Lin her girlfriend. 

_If that’s even where we’re headed_ , thought Kya. It had been surprising and encouraging to be greeted with a hug when Lin walked in the evening before, but Kya had also seen how tired she was. They had a lot of things to talk through that couldn’t just be swept under the rug. No matter how much she might like to. 

Kya thought of Lin’s letters tucked away in her bag. The pages were well worn from how many times she’d reread them. She couldn’t deny she’d dreamt of their reunion a few times and she had been more than a little unsure of how it might play out. 

Kya took her time making breakfast, hoping Lin would take advantage of sleeping in. She found a tray as she finished and set everything on it before she tentatively knocked on Lin’s door. There was no answer but the door wasn’t locked. Kya slid it open quietly and smiled at Lin’s sleeping form. 

It was more than a little amusing to Kya that the extremely structured and stable Lin slept with her limbs spread out in all sorts of directions. Even the one time they’d shared the same bed, Kya had slipped away to the bathroom only to come back and find Lin’s arms wide open. 

Her heart ached at the memory of how she’d just crept back in bed then and Lin had gathered her up so quickly. Kya shook her head. Once again, there was so much to discuss. She set the tray on Lin’s dresser and turned back to gently nudge her awake. 

Lin stirred a little before she yawned and stretched her arms. As she blinked her eyes open, she did a double take. “Kya?”

Kya smiled. “Hey, I made breakfast.”

Lin sat up and saw the tray. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Kya shrugged. “I wanted to.”

Lin nodded. “Are you staying?”

“For breakfast,” stated Kya. “I hadn’t really made plans after that.”

Lin looked between Kya and the tray. “Did you already eat or were you planning to steal my food?”

Kya chuckled softly. “This is all for you.” She lifted the tray and put it over Lin’s lap. “I’ll just...” she turned. 

“Kya?”

Kya looked down at Lin. “Yeah?”

Lin took a deep breath. “I know I have no right to ask it and you probably have a million things to do, but will you stay here today?”

Kya’s heart sped up. “If that’s what you want.”

Lin nodded. “Please.”

Kya’s face softened and she tilted her head. “Ok.” She nodded towards Lin’s food. “Eat up, Chief.”

Lin scoffed but took a bite of eggs. 

* * *

Kya was finishing up a letter to Katara when Lin emerged an hour later. She was in her uniform pants but what looked like a worn RCPD t-shirt. Her hair was combed but free of the usual pins. Kya had the strongest urge to run her fingers through it. 

She shook her head and stood up, reaching for the breakfast tray. “I can get that.”

Lin shook her head. “No, I have it. Why don’t you sit? I’ll make tea and we’ll, uh, talk.”

Kya nodded. “Ok.” 

The phone rang in the middle of Lin’s task and Kya tried to ignore how attractive she still found Lin’s “Chief tone”. She drummed her fingers along the armrest of the sofa and tried to think of all the things she’s been wanting to say to Lin and what she hoped to hear. 

“Sorry,” said Lin as she put a new tray down with tea. She sat opposite Kya with her feet firmly on the floor and her hands balled into fists on her legs. “It’s been a week.”

Kya nodded and went to bend water for tea when she noticed Lin had already poured. She gently took her cup and sipped. “If you’re busy, I can always just--”

Lin sighed softly. “I’m not too busy for this.”

Kya set her cup on the coffee table. The conviction in Lin’s voice was a steadying reassurance Kya hadn’t realized she needed. She leaned forward. “Ok then. Where should we start?”

Lin took a deep breath. “I, I’m not sure.”

Kya nodded. “I read your letters.”

Lin nodded back. “I wanted to call, but I didn’t think I had the right and I know reception can be spotty down there.”

“It can.” Kya breathed out slowly. “Listen, I know this is awkward and difficult, but I think if we want to go forward as friends or anything else, we’ve gotta get through this.”

“I know that,” said Lin sharply. Then she shook her head. “I’m sorry, I just… I was so excited that day before you left. I still couldn’t believe what we said and shared and then it was like I could see it crumbling before it started.”

Kya sighed. “I can see how it would feel that way, which is why I--”

“Wait,” interrupted Lin. Her eyes were soft and worried as she looked at Kya. “You’re doing that thing where you’re being too generous, and as much as it’s something I admire in you, I don’t deserve it for this. Those things I said, Kya. They’re unforgivable. I plan to spend a long time making up for them. And I--”

“Now _you_ wait,” said Kya. “Whether or not you’re forgiven is my choice, Lin, not yours. And guess what? I do forgive you. I needed time and it did hurt, but I know why you reacted like that. I paid attention while I was here and I think I know you pretty well.”

Lin peered at her fondly. “You do.”

Kya smiled. “I know you’re trying. I appreciate that. I just need to know you trust me when I tell you things. That’s what hurt the most. The fact I was telling you the truth and you didn’t believe me.”

“It was hard,” whispered Lin. She cleared her throat and her eyes were shining as she looked at Kya. “I’m not used to people caring about me the way you do, or even the way Opal does. I had convinced myself that I preferred living without close connections because it’s easier, but then you were here and I saw the value in all of it. I think talking will always be difficult for me, but I want…” she trailed off and ducked her head. 

Kya leaned forward and gingerly took one of Lin’s hands in her own. “I know you said slow wasn’t your typical style, but why don’t we try it a little while? I can still stay for the day and when you’re done working, you can catch me up on everything. Then I’ll go to the island and we’ll take it one step at a time from there.”

Lin nodded and squeezed Kya’s hand before she looked up at her. “What do you want? I don’t want to assume what you—”

Kya cupped her cheek. “I want you.” 

Lin leaned into her touch. “Still?”

Kya smiled. “Yeah.”

The smile that graced Lin’s face had to be the most beautiful thing Kya had ever seen. Her heart leapt at the sight and for the first time she felt a flood of relief run through her. They might just be ok. 

* * *

Lin adjusted her jacket as she neared the dock of the island. There were two figures standing there and as Lin got closer, she saw Opal shifting anxiously next to Kya. Lin furrowed her brow when she docked and threw her rope up to Kya who smiled as she leaned down to tie it. 

Lin thought of the flowers on the backseat of the boat but hesitated to reach for them. “Good evening.”

Kya winked. “You look nice.”

Lin took in Kya’s deep purple dress for the first time. “You too.” She held Kya’s gaze for an extra second before she turned to Opal. “Hello.”

Opal bit her lip and fidgeted with her hands. “Hi, Aunt Lin. I was wondering, well, I already talked to Kya and she thinks you won’t mind but I need--”

“She needs a ride into town. I figured we could give her a lift,” offered Kya. There was something in Kya’s gaze that made Lin question if the request was more than that. 

Lin nodded and Opal stepped into the boat. Lin was glad she turned away so she wouldn’t see Lin hold out a hand for Kya. “She couldn’t take a ferry?” she whispered. 

Kya shivered slightly then whispered, “I’ll explain later.” She pressed herself closer. “After I tell you that you look much better than just nice.”

Lin felt her cheeks warm as she stepped back and moved to untie the boat from the dock. 

“Lin, these are lovely,” said Kya. 

Lin shrugged and moved back toward the steering wheel. She had agonized over which flowers to choose for a good two hours and thought the deep purple iris blooms would suit Kya. As Kya stuck one over her ear, Lin was grateful she’d chosen decently.

Kya walked over to Opal and stuck one in her hair, whispering something Lin couldn’t make out over the sound of the water. Opal nodded and sat in the seat at the back of the boat, facing the water. 

Kya sauntered over to Lin and looped her arm in Lin’s. Lin looked back at her niece nervously. Kya gave Lin a quick kiss on the cheek and squeezed her arm before she dropped it. “You can relax.”

Lin doubted that. “Why is she here?”

Kya sighed. “Su cancelled on her visit again. She apparently has some big meeting with Baatar Sr. and investors for expanding Zaofu.” 

Lin glanced back at Opal again before she turned to the water. “That’s the fourth time this month.”

“Yeah, so I called Asami, and she’s been scheming with Bolin and Mako over a surprise. Opal just thinks she’s meeting Bolin for dinner.”

Lin felt a tug in her heart over Opal’s disappointment and Kya’s thoughtfulness. “Do I need to--”

Kya shook her head and pressed into Lin’s side before she took a step back. “You did your part by not arguing with the ride.”

Lin nodded. “I would have come earlier if I’d known.”

“I know,” said Kya gently. “But I didn’t know myself until I came by to say good night to Jinora and overheard Opal. I blurted out the Bolin thing to give me time to call Asami.”

Lin nodded. “Are you sure Asami has the time?”

Kya nodded, a bit of sadness in her eyes. “I think she’s lonely and appreciates the distraction to make someone else’s day.”

They neared the city and Lin jumped out of the boat as soon as they arrived, helping both Opal and Kya step out. Lin wished she could do more for Opal. Every time Su cancelled, it reminded Lin of all the times Toph had missed or forgotten to show up for something. Lin hated the idea of her niece feeling even a fraction of that disappointment. 

Opal smiled and thanked her, wishing she and Kya well on their evening. When Asami showed up only a moment later with a smile and a conspiratory nod to Kya, Opal left. 

Kya winked up at Lin. “Where are we off to?”

Lin shook her head. “You’ll have to wait and see.” Kya’s eyes lit up as she looped her arm in Lin’s again. This time, Lin didn’t stiffen or look around. 

* * *

Kya’s hands shook as she made her way out of the bathroom. At least her shift was over. When she thought about returning to the island though, she found she couldn’t fathom how she might look into Ikki’s eyes. She blinked back tears and smiled at her colleagues as she exited the hospital. She thought about going for a drink or even visiting Asami, but she wasn’t sure she could be around anyone at that moment. 

Before she knew it, she stood outside of Lin’s apartment building. She looked up at the clock in the square. Lin wouldn’t be home for another two hours. Perhaps Kya could calm down in that amount of time. She managed a smile at the doorman and the elevator operator before her heart rate increased as she stepped into the hallway. She fumbled with her key, crying when she couldn’t even manage to unlock the door. 

She didn’t know how long she stood there before a pair of firm hands wrapped around her shaking ones. She turned around and collapsed against Lin, not caring when the unyielding metal of Lin’s uniform didn’t exactly provide the most comfortable place to lay her head. 

Lin held her firmly as she got the door unlocked and pulled Kya in. Kya sobbed when Lin took her in her arms again after bending off her armor and helping Kya out of her shoes. Kya tried to breathe and move but every time she did, she just fell against Lin again. At some point Lin stepped back and lifted Kya before depositing her on the sofa. 

Kya whimpered as Lin stood up. Lin kissed her forehead. “I’ll be right back.” Kya nodded weakly as she pulled a blanket from the back of the couch over herself and turned away. 

Kya’s sobbing had started to subside as Lin returned. She gently lifted Kya’s shoulders then helped Kya place her head in Lin’s lap. Kya was grateful when Lin gently swept the hair from her eyes and loosened the ties of her ponytail. After taking a few moments to breathe and settle herself, she looked up into Lin’s concerned gaze. 

Lin’s hand stilled on Kya’s head. “You don’t have to talk about it unless you want to.”

Kya gave her a teary smile. “Thank you.” She shifted and sat up, the blanket falling into her lap. “I attended a surgery.” She took a few more deep breaths, trying to get the image out of her mind. “A girl around Ikki’s age was playing near some spirit vines and she fell. She was so scared and…” she trailed off feeling the sobs start again. In some ways it had been easier when she was constantly moving. She could just flee when the pain was too much and in the South Pole, she often left for a short getaway if she and Katara attended difficult cases. 

Republic City was different, and as was her commitment. She was proud of her position at the hospital and the respect she garnered, but it often meant her cases were some of the most complex and difficult. Today it had just hit her harder than most. 

Lin softly stroked her arm which helped Kya slow her breathing again and focus. It was grounding and gentle, leaving Kya with the clarity of why in her mindless wandering she’d ended up there of all places. 

“Did she make it?” asked Lin slowly. 

Kya wiped at her eyes and nodded. “It was just really hard to tell, and I couldn’t go..” she paused and considered Lin. “You’re back early.”

Lin nodded. “Yeah, I was on my way,” she shrugged and rubbed the back of her neck, “to see if you might want to get dinner after your shift. They told me you’d gone home.”

Kya sighed. “Oh Lin, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t—”

Lin shook her head. “I’m glad you’re here.”

The kettle whistled in the kitchen and she stood up to make tea. She brought a tray back to the sofa. Kya appreciated both the warmth of her cup and of the sip she took immediately. She used the napkin Lin handed her to wipe at her eyes. 

Lin looked at her for a long moment. “I have a feeling you’re not in the mood to go out,” she paused and Kya nodded. “I can make dinner here if you’re interested.”

“There’s actually food here?” Kya tilted her head as Lin rolled her eyes. She patted Lin’s leg. “You don’t have to go to any trouble if you don’t want--”

“I do,” said Lin quickly. 

Kya smiled slowly. “Ok.” She placed her cup on the coffee table. “Need any help?”

Lin shook her head. “I’ll be fine, but you can play music.”

Kya nodded and leaned forward to kiss Lin’s cheek. “Thank you.” 

Lin paused when Kya pulled back, her eyes dropping to Kya’s lips. Kya bit her lip and leaned forward. She wasn’t sure which one of them closed the distance in the end, but the brush of Lin’s lips against hers was a welcome comfort. 

They’d been pretty careful in the past month. Kya had tentatively returned to affectionate squeezes and cheek kisses. They’d shared one other kiss a few nights ago, and Kya had been sure Lin might stay on the island or ask her back to the city, but she hadn’t. 

Kya swung a leg over Lin’s lap, her hands moving from Lin’s cheek to her hair. As she settled, Lin’s hands flew to her waist, squeezing her sides and pulling her closer. Kya let out a soft moan as Lin brushed her tongue over Kya’s lips before Kya opened her mouth to receive her. Just as Kya’s hand moved past Lin’s collarbone, Lin pulled back. 

“Not yet.” She peered up at Kya, her eyes dark and apologetic. She licked her lips and sighed. “I should probably start dinner.”

No matter how much Kya wanted to argue the contrary, she nodded and slipped off of Lin’s lap so she could get up. Kya took a deep breath and moved toward the radio. 

* * *

They ate dinner in relative silence and Lin worried their earlier kiss had sent the wrong message. She had been so careful since their reconciliation, knowing that every step forward could be hindered by any misstep. She chided herself for being unable to control her libido when Kya had only been seeking comfort. 

_She kissed back_ , her mind reminded her.

“Lin?”

Lin shook her head and looked over at Kya. At some point she’d pulled her hair up in a loose bun and without her usual strands of hair framing her face, Lin was able to linger over details often obscured by them, like the mole under Kya’s left eye or the slight dimple in one of her cheeks. The soft look Kya regarded her with wasn’t helping the itch in Lin’s hands to reach out. 

“Yes?”

Kya nodded toward Lin’s plate. “I was just asking if you’re done.”

Lin looked at her food, surprised she’d been able to eat at all. “Oh. Yeah.” 

Kya reached for her plate as Lin tried to stand. “Hey, you cooked. I can at least do the dishes.”

Lin shrugged. “I’ll dry.”

Kya chuckled. “Ok then.”

Lin realized her mistake as soon as Kya leaned over the sink to turn it on. She threw a towel over her shoulder and sighed.

“You ok?” asked Kya.

Lin reached for her first plate as Kya finished bending the water around it. “Yeah. So do you need me to take you back tonight?”

Kya tilted her head. “Trying to get rid of me so I don’t meet the next girl you have lined up?”

Lin almost dropped the plate in her hand when Kya leaned forward to catch it. “No,” she stated quickly. She rolled her eyes. “I just want you to know I can if you need me to.”

Kya paused with her hands in the air. She placed the fork she’d been about to clean in the water and turned to lean her back against the sink. “What if I want to stay?”

Lin cleared her throat and stuck her hands in her pockets. “Of course.” Her voice came out more strained than she would have liked.

Kya smiled at her like she had a secret. “You sure?”

Lin nodded and ducked her head to keep from gazing into Kya’s sparkling eyes. “We can play pai sho or catch that weird radio show you--”

“Lin?”

Kya’s hands came to rest on Lin’s shoulders and her forehead lightly nudged Lin’s. 

“Hmm?” whispered Lin over Kya’s lips. 

“Think we could kiss again?”

Lin took a deep breath then breathed out slowly. “What if I can’t stop there?”

Kya chuckled darkly. “What if I don’t want you to?”

Lin pulled her hands out of her pockets and hovered over Kya’s waist. “Are you sure?”

Kya licked her lips. “If you are.”

Lin leaned forward in answer and pressed Kya against the sink. Kya’s giggle soon turned into a moan with Lin’s hands traveling up and down her sides. Lin felt like it had been ages since she kissed Kya and the dizzying effect had her grasping for purchase on anything that might ground her. Kya pulled back slightly. 

“You want to go to--”

Lin slipped her arms around Kya’s middle and lifted, and Kya’s legs immediately wrapped around her. Kya’s eyes twinkled as she smiled down at Lin. Lin tilted her head as she moved them toward her bedroom. 

“What?”

Kya winked. “I bet you use that move on all the girls.”

Lin felt her cheeks warm as she shook her head. “Only you.”

Kya’s kiss was so quick and firm that Lin almost toppled backward. Kya giggled against Lin’s lips and wrapped her arm around Lin’s shoulder. “Easy.” 

Lin rolled her eyes at her own unsteadiness and managed to guide them to her bedroom without further incident.

* * *

When Lin gently lowered Kya to her bed, she paused as Kya tried to pull her close. 

Kya furrowed her brow. “Do you need to stop?”

Lin shook her head. “No, I just... I want to make sure this isn’t too fast.”

Kya smiled gently. “I thought fast was how you preferred it.”

Lin felt her cheeks warm. “But I can do slow if you need it.” 

She gazed into Kya’s eyes and hoped the sincerity of the statement was evident. One of the things Lin regretted the most when Kya left was not taking her time. Fear of loss had stopped Lin from ever lingering too long, but it meant when she did lose, she barely had enough to hang on to. 

Kya lifted a hand to Lin’s cheek. The feeling of her fingertips against Lin’s skin was something that Lin had longed for since the moment Kya had left and had anxiously awaited since the moment she returned. “Why don’t we just see how the night goes?”

Lin took a deep breath and tilted her head, gently kissing Kya’s fingers before she moved to her palm and wrist. Kya leaned up, kissing her cheek before she shifted to meet Lin’s lips. Lin poured all of her longing into that kiss, all of the desire she’d stored away in the months Kya had been gone. Kya met her passion with a vigor of her own that had Lin questioning how long she might be able to stay upright. 

Kya’s hand moved to the hem of Lin’s tank top and Lin sat back to remove it. The hunger in Kya’s eyes shot fire through Lin’s veins as Kya touched her exposed skin. Lin moaned as she leaned forward to run her tongue down the side of Kya’s neck, smiling when Kya started to shiver as Lin added her teeth to the journey. 

“Fuck, Lin,” she sighed. 

Lin looked up. “That’s the point, isn’t it?”

Kya laughed and Lin loved the feeling of being close enough to feel Kya’s amusement move through her body. “Got jokes now, do you?”

Lin nipped at her collarbone. “Maybe I always did.”

Kya smiled and brought her up for a kiss. “Maybe.” 

As they kissed, Lin pulled at Kya’s skirts, bunching them at her waist. Kya hooked a leg over Lin’s waist and sighed as Lin ran her fingers up Kya’s other leg. Lin drank her in, delighting in every hitch of breath and soft moan that escaped her. Kya was stunningly open with her expressions and Lin made sure to catalogue each one. 

Lin pulled gently at Kya’s dress. “Do you mind if I… ?”

Kya winked and lifted her arms. Though Lin had seen her before (and dreamt of her so many times), a soft gasp still escaped her mouth when she caught sight of Kya in only her underwear. Kya was undoubtedly a gorgeous woman, always had been, but there was something about being this close to her beauty that threatened to take Lin’s breath away entirely. 

“You sound shocked.”

Lin looked up from where she’d begun tracing a small number of freckles on Kya’s stomach. Four black freckles; two larger than the one below her eye and two much smaller. “What?”

Kya’s eyes were hesitant as she smiled. “It’s not like there’s anything new.”

Lin shrugged. “Doesn’t make you any less impressive.”

The hesitation was replaced by a sort of wonder in Kya’s gaze. “Flatterer now?”

“Flattery is for politicians,” muttered Lin. She leaned up to kiss Kya’s sternum through her chest wrappings. “This is just the truth.”

A contented sigh sounded under Lin’s lips as she kissed her way back up to Kya’s neck. Lin could feel the surety of Kya’s racing heartbeat underneath her, but the ripple caused by her panting was a signal of Lin’s effect on her that sent desire thrumming anew through Lin’s veins. Kya threaded her fingers through Lin’s hair and Lin was glad she’d taken her pins out earlier. She closed her eyes for a moment and groaned when Kya gave her hair an experimental tug. She opened her eyes to see Kya’s gaze full of mirth and her eyes dark. 

Lin dragged her teeth over the top of Kya’s chest wrap. Kya moaned and shifted to unwrap it. Lin sat up and placed a hand over Kya’s. “I’ve got it.” 

She unwound slowly, kissing every new part of revealed skin until she threw the wrap on the floor. The deep moan that vibrated against her lips was its own precious reward. Kya’s hand dug into Lin’s shoulder as she took a nipple in her mouth for the first time. There was something about the taste of Kya that sent Lin into overdrive, as if no matter how long she took her fill, she’d never be sated. She got lost in her ministrations as she lifted a hand to Kya’s other breast, kneading it and rolling a nipple between her fingers in time with her tongue. 

It was when Kya bucked underneath her that Lin was reminded of the goal to take her time. She slowed her rhythm and smiled against Kya as she let out a desperate whine. Lin kept her hand on Kya’s breast as she trailed kisses down her stomach, tracing the freckles she’d been distracted by earlier with her tongue. 

“Lin,” urged Kya.

Lin pinched her nipple in answer while Kya squirmed and moaned under her. When Lin reached the top of Kya’s underwear, Kya’s hands flew to discard it before Lin could protest the action. Lin almost teased her for her impatience but was distracted by the sight of her. 

She nodded toward the apex of Kya’s thighs. “Can I--”

Kya lifted her hips. “Spirits, please.”

Lin nodded and slid down on her bed, pulling Kya’s thighs apart gently. She kissed from each knee to the top of each thigh before she sighed and moved toward her goal. She kissed Kya’s mound and earned a moan in affirmation. At her first taste, she shivered and moaned against Kya’s lips. Kya rolled her hips in response, allowing Lin’s tongue to delve deeper without too much effort. Lin took her time with languid strokes that turned into circles around Kya’s clit. 

“Lin,” called Kya. 

Lin turned her head to free one of her ears from the press of Kya’s thigh. She hummed against Kya to let her know she’d heard her. 

“Fingers,” groaned Kya. 

Lin almost stopped to witness Kya’s water bending trick but couldn’t tear herself from her task. Instead she lifted her hand and felt the lube reach it quickly. She sucked at Kya’s clit as she inserted her first finger. Kya adjusted in no time and asked for another. Lin happily obliged, Kya’s moans becoming less something she could hear and more something she felt as Kya circled her hips and chased Lin’s mouth and fingers like a lifeline. Kya threaded her fingers through Lin’s hair and pulled her closer while she begged for just one more finger. 

Lin groaned into Kya’s cunt as she felt Kya clench around her fingers and her clit relax. Lin slowed her sucking into strokes as Kya pushed down through her aftershocks. 

Eventually, Kya stroked her hair softly. “Come here,” she said so faintly that Lin almost missed it. 

Lin looked toward her bathroom. “I can--”

Kya shook her head. “Not yet.” 

She tilted her head back, readying herself for a kiss. Lin crawled up and kissed her. It was slow, with Kya’s hands caressing Lin’s cheeks. Lin could have cried from the beauty of it and almost thought she had when she realized the wetness on her cheeks hadn’t come from her. 

She pulled back and held Kya’s face gently. “What is it?”

Kya’s smile was sweet but hesitant. “I love you.” She sniffled. “Is that ok? You don’t have to--”

Lin bent down to kiss her, hoping Kya could read the _I love you too_ on her lips. Salt lingered on her tongue as she kissed Kya’s tears away, adding tender pecks to her eyelids, cheeks, and forehead too. 

Kya gave her a beautiful watery smile as Lin pressed her forehead to Kya’s. She winked. “You can go clean up now if you want--”

“Hold on,” whispered Lin, committing the moment to memory before she slipped into her bathroom. 

* * *

Kya said a silent grateful prayer as she waited for Lin to come back from the bathroom. She couldn’t believe she’d cried. Well, she could. It wasn’t terribly uncommon for her to become emotional during sex, but she’d been so overwhelmed by how far she’d fallen for Lin that she lost the fight to hold it in.

Gentle calloused hands brushed her cheeks. “Ok?”

Kya smiled up at Lin. “Definitely.”

“Here,” said Lin. She handed Kya a glass of water and Kya felt her heart melt as it always did around Lin’s thoughtfulness. 

Kya took a sip. “Just a few minutes and then it’s your turn.”

Kya almost laughed at the surprise in Lin’s eyes. 

Lin shook her head. “You don’t have to.”

Kya winked as she set the glass on the nightstand. She lifted her hand and wiggled her short fingernails. “I’m prepped and everything.”

Lin rolled her eyes then peered curiously at her. “Did you know we’d--”

Kya shook her head. “Technically I cut them for work, but I did hope. I didn’t know tonight specifically, since I showed up here a blubbering mess, but I--”

“You weren’t a mess.”

Kya let out a soft sigh. “Still, I want to if you’re up for it.” She lifted a hand to Lin’s forearm and squeezed. “But I can wait too.”

Lin swallowed thickly. “I want to.”

Kya tilted her head as she sat up. She ran her thumb along the inside of Lin’s arm, glad when she didn’t move away. They’d come so far. “What’s going on?”

Lin took a deep breath. “I can’t say it back.”

Kya furrowed her brow before she nodded. “It’s ok if you don’t--”

Lin flipped her arm and grabbed Kya’s hand. “It’s not because I don’t feel--”

Kya squeezed Lin’s hand. “I know.” She considered Lin a moment. “I know there’s a lot left to learn about each other and, frankly, I can’t wait, but Lin,” she paused and waited for Lin to meet her gaze, “I don’t ever want to ask for something you’re not ready for or are uncomfortable doing. It’s enough for me that you know how I feel.”

Lin nodded slowly and gave Kya’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I will say it. Not every day, I’ve never been that person, but I’m capable once in a while.”

Kya smiled gently. “I thought so.” She leaned forward and gently brushed her lips against Lin’s before she pulled back. “Now I think my break has been long enough.”

Lin laughed softly and Kya felt her heart flip. Genuine laughs from Lin were rare and Kya couldn’t be more honored that she’d managed to pull one from her. “Where do you want me?”

_Everywhere_ , thought Kya. She nodded toward the pillows. “On your back, Chief.”

Lin scoffed fondly and laid down, already pulling at her pants. Kya gently moved her hands and looked to her for permission. Lin nodded and laid her hands at her sides. Kya pulled Lin’s pants off and tilted her head. “Think I could borrow these sometime?”

“No,” said Lin firmly. Kya shrugged and threw Lin’s pants to the floor. Before she leaned up and lowered her lips to Lin’s, Lin whispered. “But you’re welcome to anything else.”

Kya chuckled as she covered her lips with Lin’s. Lin wrapped her hands around Kya’s waist and she let herself be pulled closer. She delighted in the delicious tingle under her skin at every point of contact she and Lin shared. She ran her hands into Lin’s hair and pulled, smiling into their kisses as Lin’s groans went from loud to guttural. A controlled Lin was attractive in her own right, but a Lin that came undone due to her desire? Breathtaking.

Kya slid to her side and tugged at the waistband of Lin’s underwear. “Can we get rid of these?”

Lin looked up at her, lips plump from Kya’s kisses and her eyes a deep green. She nodded and lifted her hips as they both moved her underwear down. Kya reached up for Lin’s face when Lin caught her hand. 

“Touch me,” she pleaded. 

Kya nodded and bent lube from the still open bottle onto her hand. She stretched along the length of Lin’s side and caught the gasp that escaped her lips with her mouth as she played with the curls between Lin’s legs. Lin pressed against Kya’s hand as a particularly desperate moan vibrated against their joined lips. If pressed, Kya wouldn’t be able to say for sure which one of them released it. 

The slick softness of Lin’s cunt felt divine under Kya’s fingertips and she was glad of the opportunity to know the pleasure this time. _And many times after_ , her mind added. She kissed Lin harder then, the realization that this was a much more sure beginning settling in her for the first time. It didn’t take long before Lin’s panting forced them apart. 

She continued to kiss Lin’s cheek as she responded to the request to go _faster_ , _harder_ , _deeper_. Kya saw the exact moment Lin’s release overtook her and she allowed herself to let go. Lin’s skin glistened and glowed as she let Kya touch her through her aftershocks this time. 

Kya almost slipped out to wash her hands after Lin closed her eyes when she was stopped by a gentle hand. Without opening her eyes, Lin reached up to bring Kya down for a kiss. Kya almost cried all over again at the tenderness in Lin’s touch. She gave Lin’s forehead a kiss as they parted and waited a moment before she washed up. 

When Kya came back into the room, Lin had moved back and lifted the sheets for Kya to slip under. Kya got into the bed and sighed contently as Lin pulled the covers over them both and pulled Kya to her with an arm around her waist and a kiss to her shoulder. 

* * *

“Your one’ o clock is in there, Chief.”

Lin furrowed her brow. “I don’t have a one o’clock.”

Mako shrugged and nodded toward Zhang Min. “Ready?”

Lin couldn’t be sure, but she thought Zhang Min winked at her before she exited the pen with Mako. Lin sighed. All she needed was ridiculous shenanigans from her subordinates. It had been one hell of a day already, with new gangs springing up all over the city and President Raiko wanting to up their security consultations. Sometimes she regretted her adherence to duty and how many times she’d saved that man’s life. 

She walked into her office and found a familiar figure bent over her desk. She blinked a few times before she cleared her throat. Kya popped up. “Good, did you find the--” She smiled at Lin and placed a hand on her hip. “Well, hello there.”

Lin tilted her head. “Who else were you--”

“Here we go,” said Opal as she popped out of Lin’s utility closet. Opal smiled at Lin. “Good, you’re finally here.”

“It’s not Wednesday,” stated Lin. 

“No, but we have some news,” said Jinora as she walked in. 

Lin quirked an eyebrow. “This couldn’t have happened over dinner?”

Kya chuckled. “Like you’ll be getting home at a reasonable hour today.”

Lin felt the familiar urge to get defensive when Kya winked. “Still, you can’t just--”

“Walk in and ruin your stuffy Chief reputation?”

Lin rolled her eyes and sat behind her desk, relieved at least that the paperwork that had been on it was arranged in neat piles on a desk nearby. Kya pulled up a chair next to her as Opal and Jinora arranged the food before they sat opposite them. Lin did her best not to jump when Kya gave her leg a small squeeze. 

“I told them we’ll stick to a half hour,” whispered Kya. 

Lin nodded as Kya’s hand fell away. “What’s this news?”

Opal and Jinora looked at one another then turned back to Lin. Opal’s face was soft, almost apologetic as she spoke. “We are going to some Fire Nation colonies to pick up airbenders.”

A curious tug pulled at Lin’s heart. “That’s… nice.”

“It’s only three weeks,” added Opal quickly.

Jinora nodded. “After this training group, we’re going to start sending out pairs to help with whatever conflicts the Avatar would have originally stepped in for.”

Lin caught the fact that Opal was trying her best not to look at her head on. “Is this part of your dad’s plan to send airbenders out into the world?”

“Yes, it’s pretty exciting.”

Opal bit her lip. “For some people.”

Lin tilted her head. “Well, I’m sure you both will do well.”

“Thanks, Chief,” said Jinora before she took a bite of her lunch. 

“Opal,” said Kya gently. Lin recognized the careful tone as one she might use when approaching a terrified patient. “Why don’t you ask Lin what you asked me?”

Lin peered at Kya curiously for a moment and when the other woman barely glanced her way, she turned back to Opal. “What?”

Opal took a deep breath and looked up at Lin. “You’re not mad at me, are you?”

Lin reared back slightly. “Mad?”

“I said I was going to stay here, and I’m coming back, but it must be a shock and I know you don’t like--”

“I’m not mad,” stated Lin simply. _But I’ll miss you_ , she thought. “When do you leave?”

Opal let out a sigh of relief, the usual spark in her eyes returning. “Next Friday.”

“I’ll take the day off.” Three pairs of shocked eyes turned to her. She shrugged. “I do have vacation days.”

Kya was the first to recover and smirked at her. “That you do.”

The half hour went by quickly with Kya and Jinora disappearing to take out the trash and Opal fidgeting in front of Lin’s desk. 

“You ok, kid?”

Opal rounded the desk and flung herself at Lin. Lin realized she should have been used to it by now, but she was caught off guard each time. She relaxed as much as she could and returned Opal’s embrace. 

“Thank you, Aunt Lin,” whispered Opal. 

Lin took a deep breath against the tightness in her chest. “You’re welcome.”

When they parted, Kya was leaning in the doorway. She nodded behind her. “Go wait outside with Jinora. I’ll be down in a minute.”

Opal nodded and walked quickly out of the room. Kya closed the door softly and rounded Lin’s desk before she plopped herself in Lin’s lap. 

Lin felt her face flare with warmth. “What are you--”

Kya kissed her softly. “You want me to take the day off too?” Her voice was gentle. 

_Yes_ , thought Lin but it felt too hard to admit it so plainly. She bit her lip. Kya tapped her mouth with a finger and kissed her forehead before she leapt up. 

“I’ll take that as a yes. See you later.”

Lin looked up. “I might be--”

Kya winked. “Late, I know. I’ll leave the light on.”

Lin allowed herself a small smile as the door closed. 

* * *

Opal and Jinora finished their goodbyes to Tenzin, Pema, Meelo, and Ikki. Jinora moved to hug Bumi while Opal lifted the food Pema was sending them with onto the saddle of Juicy’s back. 

Kya noticed Lin stiffen and fail to hide a sniffle. She playfully nudged her shoulder. “You’re allowed some tears you know?”

Lin shook her head and adjusted her sunglasses. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Kya smiled. “Ok.” 

She moved toward their nieces and opened her arms wide. Opal and Jinora embraced her in time. She gave each of their temples a kiss. “I know you have official airbender duties, but don’t forget to have fun too.”

Opal beamed up at her. “We won’t. And we will make sure to look up Anuji and bring you those herbs.”

Kya cupped her cheek and nodded behind her. “Now go hug Grumpy back there and remind her it’s only two weeks.”

Opal paused. “You’re not going anywhere while we’re gone right?”

Kya tilted her head. “No, why?”

Opal shook her head. “No reason.” She skipped back to hug Lin. 

Jinora considered Kya. “Are you going to get married to Chief Beifong?”

Kya’s eyes widened. “Whoa, sweetie, where did you get that idea?”

Jinora shrugged and smiled. “Just saying, maybe you should consider it.” She hugged Kya again. “I’m glad you’re happy, Aunt Kya.”

Kya smiled and kissed her forehead. “Don’t get into too much trouble out there.” She turned back at Tenzin’s scoff and rolled her eyes. “On second thought, get into as much as you can.”

Bumi whooped behind her and Jinora shook her head at her family. Opal skipped past Kya and leapt up onto her bison. Kya waved them off then moved back to stand next to Lin. There were unmistakable tear tracks on her cheeks. Kya pushed away the urge to tease her about it. 

Instead she looped her arm through Lin’s and steered her away from Kya’s family and the invitation to stay for dinner that would probably be offered. 

Kya slid her hand into Lin’s. “What would you like to do with the rest of your day, Chief? Ice cream? Takeout? Go intimidate the kids at the gym?”

Lin squeezed her fingers and shook her head. “Let’s just go home.”

Kya smiled. “Sounds good.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think. This fic will be updated regularly. Feel free to come squeal with me on tumblr about these two.


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